Burn
by Landon Richardson
Summary: Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part Five of the Danni saga)
1. Fire, fire burning bright

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles and Governor Jameson and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor definitely belongs to me though!**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Welcome to the third story in the ongoing Danni saga.**

**If you've joined me from either 'The Beginning' or 'Family' then thank you very much for sticking with me, I really appreciate it more than you can know. If you haven't read the previous two stories though and are coming into this completely fresh then I would urge you to read the other two first, otherwise some of this story won't make sense. For example who the hell Jack is and what Toast has to do with things.**

**I was originally going to wait to put this up but the urge to write is currently strong so I decided why not at least put the prologue of the story up.**

**I am currently working on an one shot entitled 'Beach time' which explores Danni's day at Meka and Amy's Beach/BBQ party so please look out for it, if things work out the way I hope then it should be up within a week or so.**

**This story is the first one which is not based on an episode of Hawaii 50 so it's what I consider a missing case saga. Something which happened which we haven't seen on the show. I've been looking forward to writing this for a while so hopefully you'll all enjoy it.**

**There will be McDanni moments littered throughout and plenty of other moments between the characters as well, some romantic, some friendship.**

**Anyway enjoy the short prologue, the first chapter will be up soon, though possibly after the one shot since there are some things in there which will show up in this story.**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part three of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Nothing but fire and screams would satisfy him, not anymore and nothing would stop him either.**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Prologue

Fire, Fire burning bright

* * *

He liked being close when the fire burned.

Liked being able to see his own handiwork in the flesh as he listened to the desperate screams of people being burned alive, it was an addiction to him, a natural high which he couldn't get enough of.

The first time he had killed someone in one of the fires which he had set had been an accident. He had thought the boat he had targeted had been abandoned for the evening. He had watched it for days, learning the routine of the young couple who owned it. He had known when they would be there and when they wouldn't.

Ten O'clock at night was a time they had never been there before, instead dressing up and heading to shore to experience the Hawaiian nightlife.

He had planned everything so perfectly down to the last detail.

He had learnt the layout of the security cameras so they would never be able to see his face and identify him, He had learnt the best places nearby where he could store the equipment he would need. He had taken care of everything only they had messed all his careful planning up.

He had just finished dousing the place in gasoline when he had heard a movement from inside, as though someone had brushed past a table and disturbed something. He had frozen, listening as he stayed hunched down in the shadows and watched as a flash of red passed by the closed window.

Red like the colour of hair that the woman had.

Why was she here and not out like she should be?

If she was here on the boat then was the man she was always with there as well?

He had continued to stare at the boat, eyes narrowed as his mind fired questions at him while he breathed in the familiar scent of petrol. His eyes had lowered to the box of matches held securely in his hand just waiting to be used.

He had warred with himself briefly about whether to continue with his plan but it has been a short and pointless battle. He needed the fire, he needed to watch it consume everything. If the man and the woman were in the boat, then they had a good chance of getting out alive. If they didn't then it was simply too bad. They should have kept with their schedule and gone out.

He had lit that match, excitement going through him in a rush causing his hand to start shaking. He had looked down once more at the flame, drawn in before he had given into the temptation and thrown it onto the deck of the boat.

The heat had driven him back into the darkness that the surrounding buildings provided and he had watched, watched the way the fire had rapidly consumed the boat and listened as the woman had screamed so loudly and desperately before they had ended abruptly when the flames had hit the petrol tank causing the boat to explode.

He had stood there watching as the flames had engulfed everything nearby and he had laughed until tears had rolled down his face, feeling sated and at peace once again.

Then and only then did he turn and head away from the carnage he had created, hands stuffed in his pockets as he listened to the sound of sirens which were getting closer and closer.

He could still hear her screams in his ears as he walked away and had known without a shadow of a doubt that he would need to hear them again.

After that it had been easy taking the lives of his victims and listening to them perish.

Nothing but fire and screams would satisfy him, not anymore and nothing would stop him either.

He'd make sure of that.

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for reading!**

**An especially big thank you if you've taken the time to follow or favourite or leave me a review. I appreciate it more than I can say **


	2. Early morning chats

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles and Governor Jameson and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor definitely belongs to me though!**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Hey, welcome to the next chapter of 'Burn'**

**I'm assuming that this story will be around about eighteen-twenty two chapters long. There's quite a lot to get through and it, unlike 'family' won't be based on just one day, the case will probably be spread out over two to three days though I'm not sure yet.**

**You'll start learning a bit about the characters, including the ones you already know, throughout this story, hints about their backgrounds, about their families, about what they do in their free time. All that sort of thing. I think it's important to show that, obviously in the show they don't have time to do that which is understandable since they have a limited amount of time to work with but luckily I don't have that same constraint on me so we can explore them! I think it's important to show that other side of all the characters. That's not to say that I'll bombard you with information because I won't. They'll be mentioned when relevant. You're more likely to hear about Chin and Kono's family than Danni's family for example simply because they are around more, since they are on the island while Danni's family is in New Jersey.**

**I have put two one shot up now entitled 'Looking up' and 'Thank you' which should be read before Burn as it fits in after 'family'.**

**Just a reminder as well that this is a slow burn saga over several chapter stories and one shots. The end game is and always has been McDanni, anyone who knows me or speaks to me is probably well aware of that. The only question I can't answer is how long it will take because I don't know. I know there are going to be several moments between them, probably moments in this story as well but as to when they hook up… well I've got an idea but we'll see. The characters tend to write themselves and often take me in directions I was prepared to go to **

**Plenty of friendship moments between the characters as well as well as the slow beginnings of the Ohana coming together.**

**So there's nothing really more to say except that I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Danni Williams glanced around her living room, checking to see that she had everything she needed for the day ahead before she turned and headed down the hallway towards the front door where her seven year old daughter Grace was waiting for her, moving anxiously from foot to foot, her hand gripping her rucksack tightly.**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter One

Early morning chats

* * *

**30****th**** September 2010**

**Danni Williams and Grace Taylor's home**

**3232 Paty Drive**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Danni William's point of view

* * *

Danni Williams glanced around her living room, checking to see that she had everything she needed for the day ahead before she turned and headed down the hallway towards the front door where her seven year old daughter Grace was waiting for her, moving anxiously from foot to foot, her hand gripping her rucksack tightly.

"You know Gracie, we do have time to spare if you need to use the bathroom" She teased her daughter softly as she came to a stop beside her, reaching out and running a hand fondly down Grace's long straight dark hair, making sure not to disturb her plaits in anyway. Grace was going through a very particular stage in her life where her hair had to be just right or she would make Danni redo it for her until she was satisfied that it was done to her high standards. Neither of them had time for that at that one moment in time.

"I've already been to the toilet Mamma" Grace replied causing Danni to smile down at her quickly before she stepped forward, pulling the cover to the alarm system down, She glanced back at Grace, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well in that case I'll take it that you're ready to head out" She remarked, nodding her head towards the bag. "Are you sure that you have everything which you need to have for the school and the breakfast club?" Danni asked, her tone turning serious as she met Grace's dark eyes. "Because I'm not going to be able to bring anything to you at school if you've forgotten it."

Grace shook her head at her.

"I've got everything I need Mamma, I even double checked this morning because Ms Clarke gave Anna a detention last week. All she did was forget her science textbook on Friday." Grace said, looking briefly horrified at the thought of getting a detention and marring her perfect record.

"Poor Anna she won't make that mistake again." Danni remarked mildly. "Still as long as you keep double checking then you shouldn't end up having that problem." She told her daughter who nodded at her, a determined look on the young girl's face which made Danni smile at her. "Go to the car baby and wait for me by the passenger side while I deal with the alarm and lock up" She said, reaching over Grace's head and opening the front door ushering her out. Danni watched as Grace skipped out the house, down the garden path before veering to the side where the car was parked in the drive way before she turned her attention to the alarm pad, punching in their code and closing it before she grabbed her own bag, slipped her heels on and left the house, locking it behind her.

Danni made her way down the path, tilting her head back and stared up at the sky, shaking her head when she was met with a bright blue sky with not a cloud in sight, it was the same sight which she was met with every day and one which she was getting more and more used to.

Danni stopped by the driver side and unlocked the car, pulling the door open and climbed in, pulling the seatbelt on, her gaze landing on the clock in the dashboard which told her that she had plenty of time still. Danni dropped her bag in the passenger foot well, waiting until Grace was comfortable in her seat with her own seatbelt on before she reversed the car out of their driveway and began driving the familiar route to her daughter's school. She put on Grace's favourite CD to distract her while she began thinking about her own upcoming day and what she had to do.

So far they had no new cases and she was determined to try and make the most of that break. She was due to meet Amelia Webster, the head DA on the island and she would want to know everything there was to know about the Doran case and the Sang Ming case right down to the smallest detail which meant that Danni would need to reread through everyone's reports for the two cases. Reports from her team mates, the medical examiners notes, the reports from CSU, the whole thing would take her entire morning and probably most of her afternoon as well to complete and that was all before she turned her attention to wrapping up the case which they had just completed. Reports still needed to be written and gathered together. Charges needed to written up against Zankovic who they still needed to interview before passing him off to Interpol.

All in all it was going to be a busy day for her.

Danni sighed, glancing to the side of her with a questioning look when she felt Grace place her hand on her forearm, the warmth coming through the sleeve of her black cardigan.

"What's up baby?" She asked, bringing her attention away from her thoughts and focusing instead on the small girl sitting beside her.

"Nothing Mamma, you're the one who was sighing out loud not me, is everything okay?" Grace asked her, tilting her head to the side and fixing her with a concerned look which warmed Danni's heart.

"Is everything okay?" Danni repeated with a surprised smile. "Yeah everything is fine Gracie bean, I was just thinking about all the work which I have to do today. It's going to be a busy day." Grace nodded at her, her expression morphing into one of understanding as she patted Danni's arm, ignoring the amused look Danni shot at her.

"I know exactly what you mean Mamma, we've got two tests today at school and we have to get at least seventy prevent in them to pass them otherwise we'll have to retake them after school. I think I'm going to do okay in the English one because Ms Clarke says it's one of my best subject but I'm worried about the one for geography, I'm not good at geography Mamma, I find it really hard." Grace confessed with a sigh before she took her hand away from Danni's forearm and lifted it to her mouth instead, nibbling at the skin the side of her thumbnail.

"You have nothing to be concerned about Grace so try not to worry too much about the test okay" she said, reaching out and running her hand down Grace's hair again to comfort her, smiling when Grace automatically tilted her head into the touch with a happy sigh. "Did you study for the tests?" She asked, taking her hand away and hitting the indicator, raising her hand in thanks to the driver who let her through.

"I've been studying for them for the past two nights" Grace told her, fixing her eyes on Danni's face.

"And do you remember the basics on what you studied?" Danni pressed softly.

"I can remember it Mamma, I made bullet points like you taught me to do." Grace told her, lowering her thumb down from her mouth.

"Well in that case, you're as prepared as you can be Gracie, you can't do any more than what you've done. If you fail it then you fail it won't be the end of the world. There's nothing wrong with failing the first time you try something Grace as long as you don't give up and you try again. You just keep trying until you get it right." Danni instructed with a warm smile. "Beside my little munchkin you haven't failed a test yet so there's no reason to believe that this time will be the time you break that record."

She glanced towards Grace, her smile widening when she saw the thoughtful look on Grace's face. Danni pulled the car to a stop in the parent drop off area outside of the school, an area which was currently empty. She killed the engine, grabbing her bag before she opened the door and climbed out, her eyes automatically scanning the surrounding area looking for any potential threats. Years as a Detective had ingrained the habit into her and she doubted it was one which she ever break, especially not when she was with her daughter.

Danni moved round the front of the car to where Grace stood, smiling down at her when her daughter automatically took her hand before they headed through the playground area towards the small building where the breakfast club was being held. It was only Grace's second time attending the club and although she had said she had enjoyed it and made friends, Danni still wanted to make sure with her own eyes that it was everything which the teacher had told her about it was true.

"I've decided that you're right about the test mamma, I'm just going to do my best with them." Grace said, breaking the silence between them.

"That's a very good attitude to have baby" Danni said, tightening her hand on Grace's hand slightly. "Make sure you have a good day today at school, be good for Ms Clarke, listen to what she has to tell you and work hard at your lessons okay? I'll be in the usual spot to pick you up at three o'clock." She promised as she pushed open the door to the classroom and let go of Grace's hand.

"I will mamma, I'll see you later. I love you" Grace answered giving Danni a hug.

"I love you too Gracie bean" Danni said, leaning down and kissing Grace on the forehead. She smiled when Grace smiled at her before she turned and entered the classroom. Danni glanced up, her eyes moving over the room, taking in all the details. There was one teacher at the front of the room who was talking to one of the students while the other six worked away on something. They were a similar age to Grace and seemed pleased to see her if the way their faces lit up as they called her name was any indication to go by. Danni nodded toward the teacher, glancing once more towards Grace before she headed out of the building and back towards her car.

Danni breathed out as she climbed back into the car, starting the engine up and headed away from the school, down one of the side roads which was the quickest route to her partner Steve McGarrett's house. He had called her the night asking her to pick him up on her way into the office because there was something which he wanted to discuss with her. She had been curious about what he had wanted to talk about but he had sidestepped any of her questions before he ended the call with her leaving her staring at the phone blankly.

The traffic was light so it only took her ten minutes to reach Steve's home. She parked outside it, beeping twice on the horn to let him know she had arrived and then proceeded to wait, tapping her hands against the steering wheel in time with the beat of the music. She smiled when his front door opened and he appeared wearing a dark red t-shirt and dark cargo pants, an outfit which she was beginning to think was the backbone to his whole wardrobe. Steve looked down toward her, raising his hand in acknowledgement to her before he turned back to the door, closing and locking it before he made his way down the drive towards her. He pulled the passenger door open and climbed in, slamming the door behind him, the action causing Danni to roll her eyes as she mentally added on another day's car ban for Steve.

"Morning Danno" Steve commented as he slipped his seatbelt on, his dark blue eyes dropping to take in her outfit before he looked back up at her, an look of amusement to his gaze. "I'm guessing that you're planning on having a paperwork today then?" He asked her, leaning back in the chair. Danni glanced down at the skirt and top she was wearing before she glanced up at him and shrugged at him before she drove away from his house.

"Well I live in hope Steven. I've got way too much on today as it is without adding a fresh case on top of it. Besides I think I've already proven that it doesn't matter what I wear to work, I can still keep up with anything which is thrown up at us." Danni pointed out to him, flashing him a smile which grew into a wide grin when he rolled his eyes at her. She shook her head at him, reaching up and rubbing at the back of her neck, squeezing down on the muscle before she lowered her hand back to the steering wheel focusing her attention back on the road.

"So what have you got on today then?" Steve queried, breaking the silence which had fallen between them.

"A hell of a lot of paperwork to do, I've got a meeting with Amelia Webster today, she's in charge of the DA office here so it would be beneficial to the team if you came to that meeting with me Steve so I can introduced the two of you. Our team will be having a lot to do with the DA office" Dani told him seriously, glancing towards him again.

"What time is your meeting with her?" Steve questioned, frowning slightly.

"At one o clock, the meeting tends to last about an hour though I think the one today may be longer because she wants to discuss both the Doran case and the Sang Min case with me which reminds me, we need to write up the charges against Zankovic up today and interview him, he's been in lock up over the weekend." She told him, raising an eyebrow at him when he shook his head.

"Already taken care of Danni, I spoke to Chin yesterday, he and Kono are taking the interview. They said they would get there early to get it over and done with so it wouldn't surprise me if they are already in there with him. Once they've done that they'll write up the interview notes and then O'Connor will contact his contacts at Interpol and pass it over to them. I'll try and come to the meeting with the DA as well though I won't make any promises, it depends what happens today." Steve stated.

"I'm glad you sorted out Zankovic, the sooner we're finished with him, the better it will be" Danni said with a smile before her expression turned thoughtful as she turned towards him. "So why did you need me to pick you up then? What have you to tell me?" She asked, waiting for him to speak. He remained silent for a moment as though he was trying to pick the words he wanted to use to speak to her.

"I thought about what you told me on Friday when we were in the car on our way back from finding Lowry" He told her, crossing his arms over his chest. "About the fact that we may have found out that Natalie Reed wasn't who she claimed to be and maybe have solved the case before Evan and Kono were kidnapped, if we had someone who remained back at the headquarters running down all our leads as they happened rather than having to wait until one of us had enough time to check."

"I remember the conversation" Danni said slowly, pulling the car to a stop at a red light, keeping her eyes forward. "Did you come to a decision about it then?" She asked him.

"It didn't take long for me to realise that you were right so I spoke to the Governor when I got back to the office while you were picking Grace up and told her that we needed someone on our team who job role was to be our computer and Intel specialist. I also told her that we had someone in mind for the position." He commented, moving round in his seat so he could see her reaction to what he was saying.

"Right and how did she take that?" Danni remarked, waiting for him to continue.

"We discussed it and she's agreed to give Toast a month's trail with us in that position to see how he works out and whether he can sort himself out and get back onto the straight and narrow. I spoke to him on Friday and he's accepted the job and will start today though I told him to get in at ten. He has restriction on him though Danno. I know you trust him and that you see something in him but I have to think about the rest of the team as well. I need all of us to be at our best at all time. We're the Governor's personal task force so everyone will be watching us, waiting for us to mess up just like you said. Toast's can't be at his best if he spends the majority of his day baked out of his head so I've told him that he has to go to rehabs and I've pulled some strings and got him into one of the best ones available on the island who are known for their discretion. I'm giving him just one chance though Danni, if he fails; If he misses a meeting or fails to meet with his sponsors or he smoked even once than he is off the team and nothing will change my mind over it, not even you. The only way he's allowed to miss a meeting is if we have an extremely urgent case. That would be the only time I'd be willing to overlook it." He told her seriously.

Danni nodded her head. Moving away from the light when it turned green before she spoke to him.

"I understand Steve and that seems fair to me." She told him quietly.

"That's all you're going to say about it, that you understand and that it seems fair?" Steve commented, shooting her a suspicious look, his eyes scanning her face. "You don't seem surprised by the news"

"That's because it's not a surprise to me Steve, I already knew that you had hired him." Danni confessed.

"You already knew I had? How did you know about it Danni? I haven't told anyone else that I had hired Toast unless…" His voice trailed off as he watched her. "Unless Toast himself told you about it?" He asked with another frown.

"He did" She told him. "He came to see me on Saturday when I was on North shore for Meka's BBQ and beach party. He told me how you had offered him a job as the computer and Intel specialist and how he had accepted it. He told me about your conditions as well. He seems determined so whatever you said to him clearly made an impression because he refused my invite to join us because he had to get to his first rehab meeting. You know he seemed genuinely thankful for the chance we're giving him though he kept telling me that you had told him that the only reason you were offering him the job was because of me" She remarked softly.

"Well he's right, the only reason I offered him the job was for you" Steve replied with a shrug, ignoring her surprised look at him. "I just hope for your sake Danni that he doesn't let you and the trust you clearly have for him, down in anyway" He reached up and ran his hand through his short dark hair before he continued speaking. "There's another piece of news I have to tell you, this time it's about O'Connor."

"If you're going to tell me that you've hired Jack to join our team then you don't need to. Jack told me yesterday on the phone that he was joining the team and starting today." Danni said.

"O'Connor told you over the phone? When did he even get your number? Did you give it to him because I don't remember seeing you give it to him" Steve stated, attracting Danni's attention to him.

"He had my cell number because of the case. I used it to ring him remember, once he learned about the change he saved the numbers he had, probably figuring that he would need them. Anyway he told me when he rang me, he seemed torn between being pissed off and resigned to the change. Can't say that I blame him either."

"No offence Danni but why would O'Connor ring you and tell you about it?" Steve asked her, the hand resting on his thigh curling into a fist.

"Because I'm the only member on the team who has a child" Danni replied simply. "Jack rang me because he was looking for some advice on the schooling around him, what schools were good, which ones had after school clubs he could use. Jack's having to move his two young daughters to Hawaii now that he's being stationed here. He had two of them you know, Poppy and Bella. It turns out that Poppy is only a couple of months older than Grace so I told him about the school which Grace attends. We've also arranged a few play dates between them as well. If Poppy and Gracie hit it off and become friends then it would help Jack's daughter to settle in here and adjust to change, sometimes having one friend is all you need. Bella is only four so it shouldn't affect her as much as Poppy" Danni commented with a smile. "To be honest Steve, I think Jack joining the team is a good thing. You can't deny that he really helped us with the Lowry case and he seemed to fit in well with us. Chin certainly got on with him like a house on fire from what I could tell, not to mention the fact that we'll have continual access to the NSA database. That added to your ability to still access the Military database means that there shouldn't be too much that we can't find when it comes to our suspects. If they have a criminal record somewhere then we can access it. What about you though? Are you happy with the changes to the team?" She asked him as she turned into the Ali'iolani Hale car park pulling into the parking space which was now reserved for her use only.

"I'm going to reserve judgement on the pair of them until I see how well they can work with us." Steve answered after a moment as he released his seatbelt. "Don't get me wrong, I can see that O'Connor is skilled and extremely competent at what he does but-" His voice trailed off causing her to smile in understanding at him.

"But Jack is the first member of the team who you didn't pick for the team yourself because it was a decision which the Governor and NSA Director made between them. You were simply informed of it and told to deal with it right?" She remarked, reaching over and patting his arm gently, meeting his eyes when he looked at her. "Just remember before you judge Jack Steve that he didn't ask to be transferred to our team and have to upend his and his daughters' life. He was quite happy leading his own team in Washington DC which for the record in case you didn't know, he's still meant to do so he's now stuck with two demanding jobs. not only that but he's had to take his children out of their school at the beginning of the school year and bring them to a place to live that they have never been before. Trust me, I speak from experience when I say that it's not an easy thing to do Steve" She told him, meeting his eyes when he glanced over to her before she looked away and began gathering her bags together instead, focusing on that task before she pushed her door open and climbed out of the car.

Danni glanced around her, looking across the roof at Steve when he spoke, a thoughtful note to his voice.

"What about Poppy and Bella's mum?" He asked her. "You haven't mentioned her at all."

"I haven't mentioned her because I have no idea Steve. I haven't heard Jack mention her before. All he spoke about was Poppy and Bella. I'd say based on that and what he said on Friday that she's not in the picture for some reason and that Jack is a single dad raising them himself." She told him.

"But you're happy our two newest members?" Steve asked, coming to her side as they began moving towards the entrance to the building.

"Yeah I am, I think that both of them are going to make good additions to the team as long as we give them a chance." She said, giving him a pointed look. "What did Chin and Kono say when you told them about it on Friday? I assume you mentioned it to them when you all went for drinks after the graduation we threw for Kono." She said, slipping past him into the cool reception area when he held the door open for her, ushering her in with his hand.

"I didn't tell them on Friday, you're my partner and my second in command Danni so I wanted to tell you about it first though apparently I didn't need to tell you because you seem to know everything which is happening on our team." He remarked with a frown as he followed her in. Danni smiled at him reaching out and catching his hand, squeezing down on it for a second before she let go of him.

"It's not always going to always happening like this. There's still going to be plenty of times when you tell me something which I'll have no idea about. This is probably just a one off." She said soothingly to him, showing her security card to the guards before she swiped it through the barriers and stepped through them heading towards the elevators. "I see that they've started beefing up security here since last Friday" She commented, waiting until Steve had joined her before she pressed the button, calling the elevator to their floor.

"Yeah I told the Governor to start doing it. A place like this would be a prime target for the criminal element on the island to target, considering the fact that it now has us and the DA's office here."

"That's true I guess" Danni agreed, stepping into the lift and hitting the number three button, waiting for the door to slide close before she spoke again. "Are you still going to have the team briefing this morning?" She queried curiously.

"Yeah I plan to have one at least once a week. I have to tell Chin and Kono about the changes to the team though they probably already know about it. I'll have to look into their roles as well, try and spread them out more so everyone has something to specialise on." Steve answered crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the back wall.

"They might know about Jack joining because there's a chance that he spoke to Chin and Chin mentioned it to Kono but I doubt they know about Toast if you haven't said anything to them. The only reason that I knew about him getting the job was because he hunted me down to thank me in person for convincing you to give him a chance. So let's make sure we actually do that and give the pair of them a chance to prove themselves" She cautioned him, patting his back before they left the elevator together and made their way down the long corridor which led to their headquarters.

Danni glanced around her automatically as she entered, a smile coming to her face when she saw Jack standing alone at the computer table, sipping at a coffee as he looked down at something on it. She looked away and focused on the computer table curiously. She hadn't had time to look at it on the Friday when it had been installed and she had already been banned from operating it alone by Steve when they had spoken on the phone the day before, or at least banned until Steve could give her lessons on it. A quick glance showed that Jack was the only one in the office which probably meant that Chin and Kono were downstairs interviewing Zankovic, Steve had already said that Toast wasn't due in until ten so Danni doubted that they would see him until at least nine thirty.

"Morning Jack" She said approaching the tall blond with a smile, glancing to the side of her as Steve walked past them, giving Jack a wave as he entered his office, closing the door behind him. Danni blinked before she turned back to Jack and spoke. "Welcome to the team, I hope you're going to be happy here with us, you've definitely come at the best time, we're still trying to get our bearings" Danni remarked ruefully, tilting her head to the side as Jack smiled at her. She had to admit, the man in front of her certainly was good looking, especially when he smiled, his pale blue eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Thanks Danni, I appreciate that, hopefully everything goes well." Jack responded. "There's fresh coffee in the kitchen if you wanted to grab one, I made it about fifteen minutes ago. I've never quite learned how to start the day without a hit of caffeine" He remarked.

"I think it's a parent thing because I'm the same." She remarked, patting him on the arm as she headed past him into her office which was next to Steve's. She still had a few things to put away and get settled in the medium sized room but it was still a great deal more comfortable and cosy then when she had first seen it. She moved to her desk, powering up her computer and dropped her bag beneath the desk, her eyes landing on the stack of files in her in-tray, files which were no doubt related to their last three cases. The Lowry case alone still required a lot of work from them, reports needed to be written, interviews typed up, and evidence collected from CSU. Then once it was done, Danni would need to prepare everything to pass over to Interpol when they came to collect Zankovic from their custody which would no doubt be either that afternoon or early the next day.

Breathing out slowly Danni picked up her coffee mug and headed towards the kitchen, grabbing the coffee machine and pouring it into her mug with a thankful sigh. She pulled out her milk from the fridge, smelling it and nodded, adding it to the drink while making a mental note to herself to pick up some more milk on her way home that evening. She moved back to the main room and moved back to Jack.

"So did you have a good weekend? Get up to anything or were you just trying to learn the island?" She asked, blowing on her drink before she took a sip of it.

"I spent the whole weekend house hunting" Jack told her with a sigh. "I've found a place which I can rent for the time being but it's not an ideal location. My older sister is flying over later on this afternoon with Poppy and Bella so at least there will be somewhere they can go." He said running his hand through his thick blond hair.

"So your sister is coming down with them, is she staying?" Danni asked, surprised when Jack nodded at her.

"Yeah, Natasha. She's decided that she wants a change of scenery so she's decided to move over here with her two sons to help me with the girls. She'll look after them while I'm at work until I get myself sorted. She owns a bunch of successful crèches back in DC and the surrounding area so I figure she's planning on expanding her empire and opening a crèche here somewhere" He commented, reaching up and rubbing tiredly at his eyes. Danni watched him for a moment, wondering what the other man was hiding, something was clearly up because she couldn't think of many older sisters who would not only be willing to move to an island they had never been before but be willing to move their two children either. For a moment she thought about pushing but she decided not to. Jack was entitled to a private life and if he wanted to tell them then he would.

"The whole moving to Hawaii from the mainland will get easier with time." Danni told him sympathetically. "When I first arrived here I had never been here before so I knew no one other than my ex-husband. I mean I was lucky that Duncan and I get on most of the time but it still wasn't an ideal situation. Once I began making friends of my own then it grew better. At least you'll have your girls, your sister and your nephews with you. Having that family support will make a lot of difference for you."

"That's true" Jack agreed. "So what about you? Did you get up to anything over the weekend other than your ex partner's beach party?" He asked.

"Not really, I did chores and mother stuff once we got home." She replied before she looked over her shoulder, looking at the pile of work which she could see through the glass panes of her office. "I best crack on with my work, I've got a ton of files which I need to go through so I guess I'll see you in an hour or so for the team meeting that Steve wants to have. If you've done your report for Lowry then email it over to me. If you haven't done it yet then the quicker I can get it the better," She said, slipping back into work mode.

"I'm half way through it, you should have it shortly" Jack told her.

"That's good to know" She said, flashing him a smile over her shoulder before she made her way back to her office.

All she needed was a few hours of undisrupted work.

The only problem was that she had the feeling that she wasn't going to get it.

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Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read**

**An especially massive thanks if you've taken the time to review or follow or make this story into a favourite, I appreciate the support more than I can say **


	3. We have a case guys

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles and Governor Jameson and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor definitely belongs to me though!**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here we are with the next chapter of 'Burn'**

**I'm sorry for the long, long delay in getting this chapter up to you, I've had it half written for a while but just never got round to finishing it until now due to real life getting in the way which is a lame excuse I know. I've just reread 'Family' though and it's put me right back into a good Danni state of mind so here's hoping that it lasts for quite the while.**

**I'm looking forward to writing the six of them as a team, I guess I have a 'Core 6' instead of a 'Core 4'. I should thank you all for being willing to stay with me and continue reading even with the inclusion of Toast and Jack into the team. Hopefully within a few stories I can convince you all that they belong there and perhaps you'll soon end up like me and be unable to imagine them not being there in this saga.**

**As usual there will be lots of 'Ohana' and 'McDanni' moments so make sure you look out for them.**

**This is also probably the last slow chapter of the story. I needed this in there to establish the team so you get an idea on how this version of 50 is going to work.**

**I don't think there's too much more to say at the moment other than the fact that I hope you enjoy this chapter and I promise you won't have to wait two months for the next one!**

**Have fun!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve glanced down at the watch on his wrist and breathed a silent sigh of relief when he realised that it was now ten O'clock and time for their team meeting. The morning so far had been surprisingly slow in his opinion compared to the other ones which they had experienced so far. He smirked shaking his head, somehow he had the feeling that the others, especially Danni were grateful for the time so they could finish off reports without having to worry about a new case taking up their attention.**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Two

We have a case guys

* * *

**30****th**** September 2010**

**Ali'iolani Hale**

**417 King Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Steve McGarrett's point of view

* * *

Steve glanced down at the watch on his wrist and breathed a silent sigh of relief when he realised that it was now ten O'clock and time for their team meeting. The morning so far had been surprisingly slow in his opinion compared to the other ones which they had experienced so far. He smirked shaking his head, somehow he had the feeling that the others, especially Danni were grateful for the time so they could finish off reports without having to worry about a new case taking up their attention.

He pressed down on his keyboard, locking his computer screen before he came to his feet, pushing his chair back as he interlocked his fingers together and stretched them above his head, coming up onto his tiptoes, grunting when his back gave a satisfying crunch which told him he had been sitting down too long. He lowered himself back down, shaking his hands absently in front of him as he moved round his desk towards the door which he pulled open, stepping into the main area of the headquarters.

He glanced around the office curiously, his eyes focusing on the members of his team to see what they were doing.

He could see Chin and Kono together in Chin's office and wondered briefly when the two of them had arrived back from their interview. They were both round the same side of the desk as Chin clearly explained something to the younger woman, something Kono wasn't quite getting if the frustrated look on her face was anything to go by. Jack was in the office he had picked out on Friday evening, unpacking a large box and putting the contents away into his desk drawer. Steve frowned slightly watching the tall blond man for a moment making a mental note to get the man's file from Danni so he can read up on him and see exactly who the Governor has placed on his team.

Shaking his head, he pushed the thought away and turned, heading over to Danni's office and knocked on the door, opening it and entering the room without waiting for her to call out for him to come in. She glanced up at the sound of the door closing behind him, her large grey eyes watching him thoughtfully for a moment as though she was wondering what he wanted before she smiled warmly at him, the sight of it easing some of the rage he had been hiding inside him. She looked away from him for a moment, her gaze landing on the clock she had attached to the wall. He watched as her eyebrows shot up in surprise before she looked back at him

"How can it be ten o clock already?" She demanded with a shake of her head, as she looked back down at the open file on her desk, biting down on her lower lip as her hand automatically came up to rub the back of her neck. Steve's eyes narrowed slightly at the movement, he had noticed that Danni only rubbed the back of her neck when there was something concerning her. Question was, what was she concerned about?

"Yeah I'm afraid so Danni, I guess the time just flies by when you're having so much fun" He commented, smirking when she let out an unladylike snort at the comment.

"Fun?" She repeated in disbelief. "There are a lot of fun things in this world Steve that I like doing but I wouldn't exactly say that paperwork is up there with them." She stated firmly as she rested her palms lightly on the surface of her desk and pushed her chair back coming to her feet. He watched as she automatically ran her hands down the back and front of her skirt, smoothing out any wrinkles which might have occurred due to her sitting down. His eyes focusing on her small, almost delicate looking hands before he brought his gaze back up to her face when she spoke.

"Is your meeting going to go on long?" She asked him, "It's just…" Her voice trailed off as she waved her hand towards the large pile of files in her in-tray which she was clearly trying to get through, a pile which was larger than his own by quite a bit.

"I don't see it lasting more than an hour tops Danno." He promised her, smirking again when she rolled her eyes at the nickname he used for her. She remained silent about it though, moving around her desk and stopping next to him. He glanced down at her as she tilted her head back giving him a thoughtful look.

"I'm holding you to that Steve, if it goes on longer than an hour then you're going to owe me lunch." Danni commented, tilting her head to the side when he reached out and dropped his hand on her shoulder, squeezing down gently on the muscle.

"I'll even pay for it" He commented dryly, his mouth curling into a half smile when she laughed at the comment shaking her head.

"I've known you for a week now Steve and even in that short amount of time I know that that is highly unlikely." She told him before she straightened. "Shall we get started with this meeting then Steve? I mean the sooner we get this meeting finished, the sooner I can get back to these files. With the way our luck works out we'll probably get another case in."

Steve rolled his eyes at her comment, dropping his hand from her shoulder and used it instead to wave towards the closed door.

"After you Danni" He remarked keeping his voice polite. Danni shot him a quick look, her eyes searching his face closely before she nodded at him.

"Manners? Well I do like manners Steve" She commented, giving him a quick smile before she moved towards the door, pulling it open as she moved out of her office into the main bulpen. Steve followed her out of the room, his eyes flickering down her figure before he lifted his fingers to his mouth and let out a sharp piercing whistle, waving his hand at the other three when they all look up from what they were doing, their hands automatically dropping to their waist were their guns normally would have been. "You know the next time you decide to do that Steven I would appreciate just the slightest heads up." Danni remarked with a shake of her head.

"I'll try and remember that for the next time Danielle" He said lightly, reaching out and placing his hand against her lower back and pushed her forward, letting his hand linger there for a moment as they stopped by the new computer table before he took it away and crossed his arms over his chest instead. "Team meeting time guys" He stated as the other three approached them with questioning looks, clearly wondering if they had a case.

"So I've got to ask boss, are these team meetings together going to be a regular thing we do or is this just a one off thing?" Kono queried as she leaned against the edge of the table, a curious look on her face. Steve glanced down taking in Kono's casual cargo pants and vest top combo. Clearly she was going to follow his example rather than follow Danni's.

"At least once a week if we have the time, I'll try and make them on Mondays around this time though it depends on how things turn out." Steve answered, looking around them before he looked to the clock.

"Am I late?"

Steve looked up towards the door in time to see Toast walk in, dressed casually in a pair of dark blue jeans and a t-shirt with a star wars reference which looked as though it had been worn hundreds of times before. He had trimmed his dark hair but hadn't bothered to do anything with the equally dark scruff adorning his face.

"Nice of you to join us Toast, I was just waiting for you before I began the meeting" Steve replied, raising his voice slightly.

Toast nodded at him, breathing out nosily before he moved towards them, making a bee line over to Danni who smiled at him and slipping into the free spot next to her. Steve watched for a moment when Danni reached over and patted Toast on the arm, murmuring something to him which Steve didn't catch. He frowned slightly, ignoring the annoyed feeling which came over him at the simple action and instead looked round the rest of the team. Jack was focused on him, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for Steve to start the meeting. Chin and Kono were looking towards Toast with a look on their faces which told him that Danni had been correct in her assumption that neither of the cousins knew about their other new member. Chin at least was giving Toast a subtle look while Kono straight out gawked at the younger man, something Toast clearly noticed if the way he was moving awkwardly from foot to foot was any indication to go by.

"I know that we had a meeting last Wednesday sorting everything to do with the team out but there have been some changed which has occurred since then which will affect us all." Steve stated. "Toast here" He went on to say, waving his hand towards the younger man who lifted his hand up in a wave. "Is going to be the teams Intel and computer expert. Danni and I discussed the situation with each other on Friday and we decided that it would be best for us to have one so that situations that happened like on the Lowry case when we needed someone to do a background check but had no one to do it, won't occur again." He stated firmly, making sure they knew by the tone of his voice that this was not up for debate. There was a moment's silence which was broken eventually by Chin.

"What does the Intel and Computer job entail then or is it actually what it sounds like?" He asked attracting Steve's attention to him.

"It's like it sounds" Steve said with a nod. "It means that Toast will be our eyes and ears for any ongoing or cold cases we may have. He'll be stationed here in headquarters the whole time, the only time he'll be out in the field with us is when there's a case which is beyond out computer skills to deal with. He'll be using his experience as a Hacker to get us into computer systems which we may not be able to access without him. It also means that we'll have someone here who will have the time and resources to run background check on any persons of interest involved in our cases."

Chin nodded slowly at the explanation, his dark eyes flickering over to Toast who was looking around him, clearly taking the office in with an impressed look on his face.

"So Toast is an internal member of the team? Someone who we can ring for any information we might need to get?" Kono asked with a slight thoughtful looking frown.

"You ring me with what you need and I'll make sure you have the information within ten minutes, fifteen if it's really encrypted." Toast said speaking up for the first time, an undercurrent of confidence to his voice which Steve picked up on.

"Toast is as good as he says, I can vouch for him personally. He'll be able to get us anything which we ask for within reason, we're not for example going to ask him to do too many illegal things." Danni said, speaking up for the first time since the meeting had begun, a warning tone coming to her voice as she looked around them all individually to enforce her point. Steve couldn't help the half smile which came to his face when she met his eyes with hers.

"It does sound handy having someone here in the headquarters the whole time who we can use to find out information, especially when the rest of us are out in the field" Chin conceded with a nod.

"I agree, it's going to save us a hell of a lot of time" Kono said with a grin as she turned to Toast. "Welcome to the team Toast."

"Cheers, I won't let you guys down, if you need me to find something then I will find it" He promised with a nod at them, the tension in his face and shoulders slowly dispersing as he grinned back at Kono.

"Toast isn't the only one joining the team, O'Connor is joining as well though since he was here this morning, unpacking some boxes in one of the spare offices, I'm guessing you all sort of figured that one out for yourselves." Steve commented dryly causing the others to grin at him.

"It did sort of give it away boss when he started putting framed photos on the desk." Kono agreed with a shrug.

"So how does it work exactly?" Chin asked, turning his attention to him. "Are you just a member of the taskforce now?"

"No, I'm still officially an NSA Special Agent" Jack said, uncrossing his arms and instead shoving his hands into the pocket of his jeans as he looked around at them. "But my Director was pleased with the way we all worked together and the case gave him the realisation that this is going to be the team which has the most influence and sway on the island so he's decided that putting a liaison officer here was the smart thing to do, that way he's covered all his own bases since Hawaii seems to be a prime location for retired NSA agents to go." He commented with a raise eyebrow, his gaze flickering towards the window.

"So what does you being a liaison officer actually mean?" Kono asked him curiously.

"That's a good question Kono" Jack replied with a shrug of his shoulders turning his attention back to them. "And to be honest I'm not a hundred percent sure yet. I'm still in charge of my team back in Washington at the moment, the only difference is that I'll be working from here so when I have spare times that's what I'll be working on though when we have a case and in the immediate aftermath of a case you'll have my full, undivided attention." He stated. "The resources which I have available to me automatically become your resources as well. Your security clearance levels are already in the process of being boosted up so you can view the information though I'll have to call them after this and give them Toast's details as well so he can be boosted as well. Steve and Danni will be the only members who have the same clearance as me which is the highest clearance you can get. It makes sense since they are in charge of things here. It also means that my team back in Washington will also become a resource for us to use on cases as well as long as you don't take the piss with using them. They still got their own jobs to be getting on with after all" He remarked.

"What sort of cases did you focus on when you were back in Washington? You clearly have some knowledge on how an investigation is run and what's needed to be done." Danni asked him, a thoughtful look on her face which made Steve frown slightly, wondering what she was thinking about underneath the look.

"Mainly we worked on white collar and terrorism cases which gave me experience on running investigations though I'm getting the feeling that we're going to be dealing with a lot of different kind of cases which will be interesting." Jack remarked "In those kind of cases, like Homicide for exactly I'm probably as much a Rookie as Kono is." He admitted, pulling a face before continuing to speak. "I'm pretty quick on picking stuff up though, so hopefully that will just be a temporary thing."

"How many are in your team back in Washington?" Chin asked the younger man.

"Five; three men and two girls. I suppose it would actually be six if you count me as well. They are five of the sharpest minds I know and knowing them they are going to be more than a little interested about what we're going to be doing here so they'll be happy to help us." Jack commented, a look of amusement coming to his face.

"So you're going to be here on the team all the time?" Chin responded, looking pleased by the news which didn't surprise Steve. Chin and Jack had gotten on surprisingly well when they had been paired together on the Lowry case, their style of working seemingly blending well together.

"I'll be on the team enough that my two young daughters and I are moving over here to live on a permanent basis" Jack responded with a smile at the native man. "A daily commute from here to Washington DC isn't exactly a feasible option for me. I won't be here all the time though." He stated, looking toward Steve and Danni, directing his comment at the pair of them. "I think it works out that I'll be here three out of four weeks every month. There will be times that I'll still needed in Washington for meetings and projects updates so you'll have to do without me being physically here though I can still help with computer work while in Washington, but other than that I'm here to stay. My guns, my skills and most important my database are yours to use" He told them, his mouth curling up into a smirk.

"This puts us in a good position" Danni stated. "Between Jack's NSA database, Steve's military connections and Toast's hacking abilities and computer skills, we should be pretty much sorted when it comes to researching any cases we have. There shouldn't be too many systems we can't access. Information should be easy to locate as well."

"Let's hope so" Steve responded glancing towards her before he turned his full attention back to Jack and Toast, his eyes moving between the two of them as he spoke, all sign if amusement and relaxation gone from his voice as though it has never existed in the first place. "There are a few things which you both need to know now that you're officially members of the team. The first is the fact that I'm in charge of this taskforce which means that although I am willing to listen to suggestions for what we can do to improve things, what I say goes without argument." He told them, ignoring the sudden amused look which Chin and Kono shared with each other. "If I give you an order, I expect it to be obeyed even if it doesn't make sense to you straight away. Danni" He went on to say, waving his hand towards her. "Is my second in command of the team."

"The second joint boss with Steve." Kono corrected, grinning innocent at Steve when he turned to look at her. Rolling his eyes, he looked back towards Jack and Toast, ignoring their amused looks as he continued speaking.

"If I'm not here for some reason then Danni is the one who will be in charge in my place. She's also going to be the team's point of contact for HPD and other agencies who may require our help. If they want to refer a case to us then it goes to Danni first, she'll evaluate the cases and see whether it's one which we should be dealing with. She's also going to be checking your reports for the time being before they are sent to me to make sure that they are up to the standard they use at HPD. It's not a slight against anyone but Danni is the one who has the most up to date experience in writing them and we're going to be under intense scrutiny from everyone at first so we have to make sure that we give them nothing which they can use against us. The rest of us will do all the other jobs which are needed to be done in the office, like ordering in supplies." He told them, turning towards Danni and speaking, ignoring the glare she was giving him. "I'm assuming you're already in the process of building a system up to make it easier on yourself?" He asked her, reaching out and patting her upper back.

"I am but you and I are going to talk about this later Steven." She responded with a shake of her head, looking away from him when her cell phone suddenly went off. She lifted it up and looked at the screen, her eyebrow rising as she looked back at them. "Excuse me guys" She commented, taking a few steps away from them as she answered the call with a brisk. "Detective Williams"

"The partnerships will remain the same for the moment." Steve said, turning back to the others. "Danni and I will be together, Chin, you're going to be with Kono for the time being, she could learn from your experience. Jack you're going to be on your own for the moment but you'll cover if one of us are off or is required elsewhere to do something. Toast, you'll be here in headquarters so we need to get your paperwork sorted as soon as possible and get you a proper security card. The Governor is upping the security in this building starting from today so we'll all receive new security cards soon" He told them. A movement to his side caught his attention and he turned, looking over his shoulder in time to see Danni suddenly twist on the spot moving over to her office, a look on her face which told him that the call she was on was a work call which no doubt meant a new case for them to sink their teeth into. "It looks like we've got a new case in so get ready to move out. I want to hit the ground running on whatever it is" Steve commented, looking back to the others.

"You got it boss" Kono responded, heading over to her office.

Steve nodded at the other three before he moved towards Danni's office and walked in, closing the door behind him. He watched as Danni stood behind her desk, searching through the stack of files she had before she made a pleased sound at the back of her throat and pulled out one which looked like a case file. He watched as she dropped it on the table and opened it, looking at the papers within.

"I've located the file" She said to whoever she was speaking to, glancing up at Steve and waving him further in before she continued speaking. "What makes you think that this is suitable to be taken over by us Lieutenant?" She questioned politely. Steve leaned against her desk, waiting as she made sounds of acknowledgement at certain points in the conversation, her gaze fixed on the papers still, clearly skimming them. "Okay, I see your point." She stated with a nod. "Where is the new scene?" She asked, nodding as she wrote something down on the pad of paper next to her. "Okay Detective Lee, we'll take over the case from here. It be helpful if you could meet us at the latest crime scene and make sure you bring copies of all your files for me. We're going to have to look into them to get the background. We should be with you in twenty minutes, goodbye." She commented before she hung up the phone.

"Well, what have we got exactly?" Steve asked her as she dropped the cell phone onto the stack of files she still had to get through. She held up her hand at him in a classic stop sign for a moment, flickering through the remaining pages before she looked back up at him.

"That was Detective Lee with HPD. He's put in a request for us to take over this case from him" She told him.

"What sort of case?" Steve pressed. Danni raised an eyebrow at him.

"I was just getting to that before you interrupted Steve" She stated with a shake of her head before she continued speaking. "Detective Lee is an Arsonist expert, most of the cases he is given from Captain Hookano feature simple arsonists. He's been chasing this one for over two months now. At first they were simple fires but apparently the person behind them has now escalated to murder, not only murder but is quite possibly a serial killer. His last three blazes have all involved people dying in them." She commented, picking the file up and moving back into the main bulpen with Steve following her. Danni headed over to Toast stopping next to him with a smile. "Are you logged into the system yet Toast?" She asked him.

Toast looked up at the sound of her voice.

"Not yet. I haven't been given a log in or…" His voice trailed off as Steve spoke over him.

"Wait here" He stated, moving towards his own office. He grabbed the details of Toast's new login from the surface of his desk and turned back re-joining Toast and Danni, passing the sheet of paper to the younger man. "This is your log in Toast." He told the younger man who took it from him with a nod at him.

"You got it McGarrett, just give me a second and I'll be on." He responded, moving over to the computer table, his fingers flying over it. Danni passed to file to Steve before she spoke looking around at the others as they joined them at the table.

"Guys we've got a new case" She said. "We've got a rogue Arsonist who has now escalated into murder. Detective Lee was in charge of the case previously but he's passed it onto us since Homicide isn't his area of expertise. He's going to meet us at the latest crime scene to fill us in on all the details of what's been happening."

"Okay, I'm logged in now" Toast announced, looking towards Steve and Danni. "What do you need me to look up?"

"Have a look at the file that Danni has given you, I want background checks on all the names listed there, victims and potential suspects. After you've done that look at the areas he's burned places down in. I want to know if there's anything which links them. Are they all rentals? Houses? Do people own them? Anything you can get us on them" Steve instructed with a glance towards Toast.

"Consider it done" Toast assured him. "I should have what you need within the hour, when I have the information I…"

"Call Danni and let her know" Steve finished for him when his voice trailed off uncertainly.

"I'll be able to give you more information than as well Toast because we would have spoken to Detective Lee by that point." Danni told him with a smile.

"The rest of us will head down to the latest crime scene and see what is there for us. Danni find out who is the ME and CSU agent in charge is for this latest case. I want you to speak to them after we speak to Detective Lee and see what you can get out of them information wise. The rest of us will go over the rest of the crime scene with a fine toothcomb. Jack if there is any technology there…"

"Then I'll get it working again and see what we can get from it" Jack said to Steve with a nod at him.

Steve nodded back, his eyes moving over the team before he spoke.

"Let's get going then."

* * *

Author Note

**Yay! It's always a great feeling when another chapter is done and dusted!**

**Thank you for taking the time to read the chapter and an especially massive thank you if you've taken the time to review or favourite or to follow the story. It means the world to me.**


	4. What are we dealing with?

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles and Governor Jameson and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee and Doctor Rosie Lange however do belong to me though!**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here we are with the next chapter of 'Burn'**

**I feel like I should say right now, front and centre, that this story is going to be a lot darker than the previous two stories in the saga. I view the Governor's taskforce (50 eventually) as the elite law enforcement group on the island so they end up with a lot of tough difficult cases passed to them by HPD or other agencies, I know they do on the show as well but often it's just glossed over but it won't be glossed over here. I'll try and warn people if there is anything too graphic that might upset you though.**

**Also you might see a lot of characters pop up who the reader might be unfamiliar with who are there because it makes sense for them to be there. For example it's never made sense to me that Max is the only ME ever shown in the series and not until a few episodes in. I'm no medical expert but I would assume that there are a team of MEs who deal with the island of Hawaii which means that not every case story I write will have Max as an ME, mainly for the reason stated above and because I don't think Max works 24/7.**

**I love writing this story and this saga more than you can know so I only hope you'll carry on the journey with me.**

**Have fun!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**The taskforce head down to the latest crime scene to see what it is they are dealing with**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Three

What are we dealing with?

* * *

**30****th**** September 2010**

**Ali'iolani Hale**

**417 King Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Danni Williams point of view

* * *

"Just give me a second to grab my bag from my office Steve then we can go." Danni stated to Steve, her gaze flickering over to the other three who were already heading towards the entrance of their headquarters, talking to each other about something, most likely the details of the case and what exactly they were expecting to find when they reached the crime scene location.

"Okay but don't be long Danni, we want to get there when the evidence is fresh after all." Steve commented, the response causing Dann to roll her eyes before she turned and headed over to her office. She moved round her desk, leaning down and picked up her bag from beneath it and placed it on the surface, dropping her cell phone into it absently.

She looked up in time to see Steve saying something to Toast who nodded in response before giving Steve a thumbs up, the action causing Danni to smile before it faded. She hoped that Steve would give Toast a fair chance.

Shaking her head she moved some files from her desk and placed them in the in-tray, leaving only two on her desk which she picked up, flicking through them to make sure that everything which needed to be in there was present before she placed in her bag. There would be no guarantee that they would come back to the office before she had her meeting with the DA's office and if she didn't have the completed files for the Doran and Sang Min case then Amelia Webster would slaughter her, friend or no friend. The other woman had a reputation for being no nonsense and focused, it what made her so good at her job. It also meant that she didn't put up with any mistakes which slowed her down in any way.

Danni glanced around her office one last time, making sure she had everything she needed before she rummaged in her bag and pulled out her keys, heading out the door and closing it behind her. She selected the right key on her key ring and locked it behind her, testing it to make sure it was locked before she turned on the spot and headed back over to where Steve and Toast were, her eyebrow rising when she realised that Steve was staring at her with a puzzled look.

"I'm ready so let's head out." She stated, shouldering her bag as she came to a stop by them, her gaze flickering to Toast who was standing; the palm of his hands resting against the computer table as he read the file which Danni had given him earlier, a look of concentration on his face which she had only witnessed once or twice in the past. "Toast, would you mind texting everyone the address of the crime scene please? All our cell phone numbers are in the database under the folder entitled Team, it was one of the first thing Chin set up when we got established in here so you might want to plug in your number as well. He added Jack's in there on Friday as well if memory serves me right" She told him, smiling when he nodded at her, looking up with a warm look on his face.

"You got it Blondie, you'll have the crime scene address on your cells before you've even left the car park and I'll make sure that I set up high security of that file. We don't want anyone getting in and being able to see our personal details after all." He stated with a grin before he turned his attention back to the file in front of him and began reading again.

Danni nodded before she turned and headed towards the door, tilting her head to the side when Steve came up beside her, matching his longer stride to her smaller one. He still looked thoughtful, as though there was something on his mind which was puzzling her. She thought about asking him about it but decided to remain quiet instead. If it was something he wanted to discuss with her then he would do. She already had the strong feeling that pushing Steve would not be a good idea and could damage their partnership which was something she wasn't willing to do.

They made their way down the corridor silently to the elevator, stopping outside it before Danni reached forward and pressed the call button, mentally running through a mental check in her head over what they needed to do once they were at the scene. The movement of the elevator doors sliding open attracted her attention from her thoughts so she stepped in, turning and watching as Steve pressed the button to the ground floor. The instant the doors to the elevator closed Steve spoke, a thoughtful tone to his voice.

"Why did you lock the door to your office?" He questioned causing her to blink in surprise at him. Whatever she had thought had been going through his mind that hadn't been it. She made a sound at the back of her throat, looking up at the floor numbers briefly before she looked back at him, unsurprised to see that he was still watching her. She often caught him watching her with the same puzzled expression as though he was trying to figure out what was happening in her mind or the way she worked.

"My office door?" Danni repeated watching as Steve nodded slowly, raising an eyebrow at her making it clear without words that he wanted an answer to his query. "The reason I locked it is because I have a lot of sensitive files on my desk at the moment and I don't have the time at the moment and I didn't have time to go through them earlier because I was too busy working on the Doran and Sang Min case and then there was your team meeting. It just makes sense to lock the door so no one who isn't meant to see them can actually see them. Once I get the chance to go through them, I'll lock them away in a filing system rather than locking my office." She explained to him with a quick smile.

"You are aware that Toast is going to be in the Headquarters the whole of today right?" Steve pointed out. "I think he might notice if someone who isn't meant to be in our headquarters suddenly turns up ad heads into your office."

"It's true that he will be but he's probably going to be a bit preoccupied as well with the case and what if he needs to go to the toilet or the kitchen or he pops out to pick himself up some lunch? I told you I haven't been through them yet, I haven't even found the time to flick through them so if someone happened to go in there and take a file from the pile then I wouldn't even know it was missing. Just trust me okay Steve, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to police procedure and the correct way of doing something."

"If you say so Danno" He said as they walked out of the building and headed down the steps, towards where she had parked her car. She moved round the front of the car towards the driver's seat and pulled the door open, climbing in and dropped her bag into the foot well. She straightened, sticking the key into the ignition and looked towards Steve, waiting until he had his seatbelt on before she reversed the car out of the spot. "Toast has sent us the address" He stated, holding his cell out to her so she could see the address of their location. "It's not too far from here, probably about a fifteen minute drive give or take." He told her.

Danni made a sound of amusement in the back of her throat as she shook her head.

"Is that an estimated guess based on the way you drive or the way a normal person drives Steve?" She questioned, glancing at him with a smile which grew when she saw his mouth curl up into a rare smile.

"I think you'll find that it's actually you who is the exception to the rule when it comes to driving here." He replied mildly. "If you look around then you would know that most people over here happen to drive like I do." He stated causing her to laugh as she shook her head.

"Come on Steve, we both know that that is not quite true is it. I've been living here on this island for six months now and I haven't met anyone else who drives like you or do I need to remind you that it's been only six days since you drove the police car onto a Chinese freighter which happened to be moving away from the dock we were on at the time."

"We emerged from that car journey without a scratch on either of us Danni" He reminded her before his face darkened. She raised a questioning eyebrow at him surprised when he looked away from her, his eyes dropping to look at his hands. He was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Has there actually been any news from the coast guard yet Danni? Have they even located Hesse's body yet?" He demanded, his gaze flickering over to her.

Danni slowly shook her head, her heart aching for him.

"Nothing yet" She admitted quietly. "But they are looking daily for him Steve, the Admiral is well aware of how important it is to find him. Not only that but Jack and Chin have been searching all the database as well just in case something flags up on him." She assured him softly.

"Yeah and it's been six days nothing and nothing, they should have found him by now. What if he actually survived it Danni and he's somewhere out there still alive with no one looking for him? What then?" He demanded, reaching up and running his hand through his hair in a jerky movement. Danni was silent for a moment focusing her attention on the road before she spoke.

"Then we make sure that we keep our eyes open and our ears to the ground and we listen Steve. If Hesse somehow survived you emptying your clip into him then we will soon know about it. A man like him can't remain hidden forever. If he somehow survived then we will go after him again and we'll make sure that the job is finished okay? I promise you that we all have your back in this Steve but you need to give the Admiral some more time to search, the current could have dragged the body anywhere on the islands okay? They want to make sure they get it right" she stated.

Steve watched her for a moment, his face unreadable before he nodded at her and looked away again, she looked at him for a moment before she focused her attention back on driving, turning the radio on to break the silence which had descended between the two of them. They had been driving for about five minutes when Steve spoke again.

"How are things going with the Doran and Sang Min cases? Are you ready for the meeting with the DA later on?" He asked her.

"Yeah I think we're ready for it, with the evidence that was collected by CSU on both cases they should end up being a slam dunk. Chin found several open cases linked to the guns which Doran had in his possession so we can tie him to them, he's going to sing like a canary. Mia is going for the biggest sentence she can with them. She wants to make an example of them both. The reports are clear and concise so the language in them shouldn't stump the jury when they hear it which good." She commented. Steve nodded thoughtfully.

"Is there anything else which still needs to be done on them?" He queried, tapping his finger tip against his thigh in time with the music.

"There's nothing left to do on the Doran case" She responded. "But there is still some work to be done on the Sang Min case. The books and ledgers that we found in his warehouse were all done in code. Jack and I took a look at them and we think we've cracked the one he used but we still need to apply it to the books to see if it works. If it does then we can figure out he's brought onto the island on his trafficking ring. Hesse isn't going to be the only criminal who used that method to come here."

"Get Toast and Jack to help you on that and have Kono shadow you for it, it be good experience for her to see how it's done." Steve stated before he changed the subject. "Have you dealt with any Arsonist cases recently?" He queried.

"I did one back in New Jersey but I haven't worked on anything like this one and nothing since I moved out here, I'm a Homicide Detective so…" Her voice trailed off as she shrugged. "Well I can deal with the Homicide part of the investigation easily enough but the Arsonist part of it won't be easy. It might be a good idea to keep Detective Lee in the loop on the case as a consultant on this one, our paths never crossed when I worked there but he had a good reputation for knowing this stuff."

"I'll keep it in mind" He answered her. "Take the next left here Danno" he instructed as he held his hand up and pointed to the next street.

Danni nodded, hitting the indicator and pulled into the road, her face falling into a frown as they found themselves confronted with the ruined remains of what had once been a two storey house. The area surrounding the house was taped off with yellow police tape. Uniformed police were guarding the area from the interested neighbours who had gathered round to watch the scene. The area inside the tape was a hub of activity with firefighters gathering up their equipment and CSU agents take prints on the shoes they had on to eliminate them from the prints on the ground.

"It must have literally just happened within the past hour." Danni said softly as she pulled the car into the space behind the car Jack was using. She took her bag from Steve when he passed it to her and climbed out of the car, looking around her as she closed the door behind her. She could see the other three moving under the tape and followed them away of Steve at her side. Flashing her badge, she looked around her, her gaze finding Detective Lee where he was standing nearby. She switched direction moving towards him. They had never actually worked a case together though the others in the Detective pen seemed to think highly of him. "Detective Lee?" She called out, forcing a smile onto her face. "I'm Detective Williams with the Governor's taskforce, we spoke earlier on the phone about the case?"

"Call me Abe, it's a pleasure to finally meet the Detective who everyone constantly spoke about. We kept missing each other back in the Detective pen back at HPD." He commented, holding his hand out to her. Danni quirked an eyebrow before she reached out and took it in hers, shaking it, the grip firm and surprisingly warm. She took a moment to look at him; he was tall, just slightly shorter than Steve and good looking probably in his late thirties, maybe early forties pushing it with short curly dark hair, dark eyes and mocha coloured skin.

"Lucky me" she replied lightly, taking her hand back from him. "Did you bring all the files on the previous cases you think of linked to this one arsonist like I requested?" She queried.

"Yep, got them all with me" He answered, his eyes moving over her face thoughtfully. "Just give me a second Detective and I'll go and grab them from my car." He turned from her and jogged over to a plain black sedan parked outside, opening up the back door and reaching in to it.

"Is that Detective Lee then?" Danni glanced to the side of her to see Steve coming to a stop next to her, his arms crossed over his chest as his eyes flickering between her and the surrounding scene. She nodded at him.

"Yep that's him, he's not quite what I expected him to be." She admitted, ignoring the sudden sharp assessing look which Steve shot her. She tilted her head to the side as Detective Lee jogged back up to them, holding out a stack of files to her with a smile. Danni took them from him, raising an eyebrow at the sheer amount of them, she counted at least twenty. It appeared that Lee was a competent Detective if his files were any indication to go by. "Thank you for these Abe" She remarked absently before she looked up to see Steve and Lee looking at each other as though they were scoping each other out. "Sorry Detective Lee, this is Commander Steve McGarrett, the head of the Governor's task force. Steve this is Detective Abraham Lee; he's the resident Arsonist expert with HPD." She introduced. Detective Lee held his hand out to Steve, shaking it before he turned back to Danni with a grin.

"So you do know my name then? Because it sounds to me Detective Williams as if you did a little research on me some time in the past." He remarked.

Danni stared at him for a moment wondering briefly whether Lee was actually flirting with her or just being friendly. An unwilling smile came to her face when he winked at her.

"Keep telling yourself that Lee" She replied before she felt Steve shift next to her.

"If you're finished then we have a case to investigate Danni" He said, a strange tone to his voice which she didn't recognise. She glanced at him before she turned to the files.

"How many cases do you think there has been altogether then Lee?" She questioned, slipping back into wok mode.

"That this perp is responsible for?" Detective Lee questioned, how own tone and facial expression becoming serious now that the introductions have been made.

"I'm guessing it's more than one or you wouldn't have flagged the case to Detective Williams." Steve commented, his voice expressionless.

"He has his own signature, I know for sure he's done six, three of which had a victim who died in the blaze but there are four others which were done earlier, I think those might have been his or hers first attempts at it, learning the tricks of the trade before they got into their groove with it all.

"So probably ten in total?" Danni asked "Over how long a period?"

"Two and a half year if you include the four cases which may be his or hers which we found." Detective Lee said. "the Kane couple murder was the turning point that was the first time he or she killed someone that I know of, since then the fires have escalated, there's been less time between him or her setting them and each fire has had an increased number of victim. It feels like the guy has the taste for it now and he's only going to get worse. It's why I've called in help, so no one else dies." He commented, reaching up and rubbing his forehead as though he had the beginnings of a headache.

"Danni says you're the expert on this kind of crime so tell me, what exactly do you know about Arsonists? What should we be looking out for?"

Detective Lee looked towards him, a small smile on his face.

"It's more likely to be a male perp we're hunting then a female one, probably in their late thirties I would say, perhaps a native of the island or someone who moved here when they were younger. If we looked into his history we'd probably find some reports of abuse, he's probably got a record somewhere as well, and it tends to be that becoming an Arsonist is the route for a lot of other crimes. He's already escalated to killing, who knows what else he might have done which we don't know about Commander" Steve nodded

"How many victims were there in this blaze?" Steve asked him. Danni glanced towards him before she slipped the files into her bag to go through once they had done their initial sweep of the house.

"Family of thee, house belongs to the Hall family; Dad, mum and a young daughter aged ten. It appears that they were in the house when the blaze started. One of the MEs is in there now with the bodies. Also CSU are looking inside to see whether there was any evidence in there which wasn't burnt to a crisp in the fire."

Danni swallowed hard, looking towards the torched house, she felt Steve placed his hand on her lower back in a move which was clearly designed to comfort her and one which she found herself appreciating though she would never say the words out loud.

"What sort of evidence are they looking for exactly? Evidence to what actually started the fire in the first place?" Danni asked, thankful that her voice came out steadily as she moved away from Steve.

"How he starts the fire is one of the things which features into his signature." Detective Lee stated, making a movement with his hand for them to follow him. He led them to the house stopping in front of the charred front door. "From what I can see the perp must stalk the intended targets for weeks before hand to learn their routines so he knows the best time to strike." He stated.

"So he must be someone who doesn't stand out in a crowd or they would notice him and report him." Danni commented, reaching up and pulling on her lower lip.

"Exactly what I was thinking, or they already know him and him being around isn't anything unusual for them. However he does it, he learns their routines, where they will be? Will they be in at the time of the fire? How they function? On the last case he found out the alarm code and just let himself in. We still need to find out if he did the same thing with this case. There's no evidence that the doors are barred in anyway. He doesn't padlock it or anything that could stop a desperate family from escaping. The families don't even break the windows."

"That is strange" Danni agreed, feeling sick to her stomach. Lee made a movement with his head again indicating that they followed him yet again, he left them to the side of the home, through the gate and down the small alley which separated from the next door neighbours house. They stopped outside of the patio doors.

"Are you sure that the victims aren't dead before the fire is started?" Steve asked. Lee looked towards him and shrugged his shoulders.

"That's a question for the ME to answer McGarrett not me, the other remains were too damaged to be able to see." He commented, pointing towards a red headed woman who they could see through the glass. "Head through the kitchen, it all went down in the living room as far as we can tell." They nodded at him, moving through the doorway and into the living room where the family had taken their last breathe. Danni looked around her, spotting Kono and waved her over.

"Hey Boss number two" Kono said, stopping next to her with a questioning look. "What do you need?"

"See the tall man outside?" She said, nodding towards Detective Lee, a smile coming to her face when she saw the gleam of interest which came to the Rookie's eyes. "Yeah he's a cutie I know. I need you to go and speak to him, find out the names of all the previous victims. I've got his files but I won't get a chance to go through them until later and we can't waste any time.

"That's not a problem, leave it with me." Kono answered with a nod at him.

"When you got the names, phone Toast and gives them to him, let's see whether we can find a connection between any of them, doesn't matter how small. If they went to the same coffee shop once then I want to know about it.

"Okay then" Kono said, moving past them both and headed out of the room. Danni turned to look at Steve who was looking to the side of him with an attentive look.

"What's on your mind?" She asked him quietly, reaching out and lightly touching his forearm to attract his attention. Steve glanced towards her.

"Just think about what Lee said about the Kane couple and how the perp broke from his usual MO of just setting random fires. What was it about them that caused that" He remarked, before he turned away from her, his eyes searching the room. "O'Connor" He called out, waving the blond man over. "Did you bring that laptop from your office with you?" He asked.

"It's in the trunk of my car" Jack told him, "You need me to look something up for you?"

"Yeah" Steve responded with a nod. "Go and ask Detective Lee for the names of the Kane couple he mentioned to us earlier and then look them up, there's something about the pair of them which made the guy we're hunting turn from Arson to murder. It might have been an accident which gave him the taste for it or…"

"They were his intended targets and he set the previous fires as practice to perfect his method." Danni finished for him. Jack nodded at her.

"Either way, he's clearly not going to stop taking people's lives until he's stopped" Jack said, running his hand through his hair, a serious look on his face.

"Detective Lee is the one who Kono is speaking to" Danni said before she frowned slightly. "Do you know where Chin currently is?" She asked him before Jack could leave. He nodded, pointing to the ceiling above him

"He's upstairs with the lead CSU agent" He answered before moving away from them, clearly intent on getting the task they had given him completed.

"Danni, go and speak to the ME and see whether she can narrow down what the cause of death was. I'm going to go upstairs and speak with Chin and the CSU team and see what we have going on. Meet me upstairs when you're done" Steve instructed.

"Okay then, you're going to need these" She told him with a sigh, reaching into her bag and pulled out two pairs of adhesive gloves, one of which she handed to Steve, she saw him stare down at them for a moment before he took them with a roll of his eyes and a half-smile. She watched as he pulled them on, following Jack out of the room. Danni moved towards the ME, pulling her own gloves on before she spoke to the unfamiliar red head kneeling on the floor.

"Hi, I'm Detective Danni William, I'm second in command of the Governor's taskforce, and we've taken over this case from HPD." Danni commented pleasantly, smiling at the woman when she looked up at her, pale blue-green eyes searching hers for a moment before she returned the smile.

"Detective Danni Williams, I've heard a lot about you. I'm Doctor Rosie Lange, I'm one of the MEs for the state of Hawaii; I started there about three weeks ago." She said. "I would shake your hand but…" Her voice trailed off as she held up her dirty gloves. Danni nodded, putting her bag behind her out of the way before she hunched down opposite the red head, her nose wrinkling up at the state of the bodies and the smell coming from them. She swallowed hard before she focused on Rosie who was watching her with a sympathetic look. "Don't worry, you're doing better than my assistant did. Brett lasted all of ten seconds before he went to find something from the back of the van. He hasn't actually been back since so I'm assuming he's currently having an inner monologue with himself about whether he's actually cut out for this job or not." She said with a shake of her head. Danni nodded, keeping her breathing shallow as she spoke.

"What do we have?" She questioned.

"I'm going to have to confirm with dental records but I believe we have the Hall family" Rosie said clinically. "Ross Hall; a thirty four year old male, Sasha Hall; thirty six year old female and ten year old Nicole Hall." She remarked, nodding towards the corpses. Danni's eyes flickered down to them before she looked back up.

"Can you tell yet how they died?" Danni asked. "Was the fire the cause?"

"I won't know until I've down the autopsy but there's some inconsistencies which make me think that maybe they were dead before the fire" Rosie stated. "I found a bullet wound in both Sasha and Nicole in the back of her head, a shot like that from such close range would have killed them both instantly. I doubt that there would be time for the arsonist to do that when they were on fire considering some sort of accelerant was used on them. This place would have gone up in flames instantly.

"You mentioned that Sasha and Nicole was shot but about Ross? Could he have shot them when he realised that there was no way out for them? To spare them the trauma of being burnt alive?" Danni asked, holding onto her professionalism by the skin of her teeth. The smell was making her want to throw up.

"I thought that as well but then I saw this" Rosie said pointing to the remains of Ross Hall's lower back. Danni followed the movement, looking back at Rosie when she spoke. "Ross was shot in the lower back, the bullet severing the spinal cord, he would have still been alive, and paralysed. I haven't found a gun in the surrounding area and if he did shoot his wife and kid then the gun would be around his body but it's not."

Danni breathed out shakily.

"So what you're saying is that the Arsonist somehow found a way into the house, got the Hall family into the living room, shot the husband in the back so he couldn't move and then shot the mum and daughter in the head before dosing them all in some form of accelerant? This guy wasn't leaving anything to chance" Danni remarked quietly. Rosie nodded, her expression turning grim.

"It's likely as well that Ross Hall was still alive when the fire was lit, if he was then there will be smoke in his lungs and damage in his throat. Death would have been quick if that was the case though I'm sure it wouldn't be quick enough for Mr Hall."

"Okay" Danni said with a nod at her. "As soon as you've done the report on the autopsy could you email it over to me? The same if you find something interesting during it, if you do then call me, my work cell phone number should be in the system. I'll come straight down."

"Of course Detective Williams, I can do that for you" Rose said.

"Danni" She replied out of habit as she came to her feet, "Please call me Danni instead of Detective Williams." She smiled at the ME before she hurried from the room, moving swiftly through the house and up the stairs, holding onto her stomach willing it to settle down. She followed the sound of Steve's and Chin's voice, stopping outside the room and took a few deep breathes to compose herself before she pushed open the door and entered it, her eyes flickering to the person who Steve and Chin were talking to. "Hey Walker" she commented with a smile at the older man. Walker Humphries glanced towards her and smile back.

"Hey Danni girl, wish we were meeting each other at a happier scene." Walker commented. "I best go and check on what the others are doing." He nodded towards Steve and Chin before he headed out of the room, clapping a hand on Danni's shoulder as he went. She glanced over her shoulder at him, closing the door behind him before she looked back at Steve and Chin.

"Did you find anything?" Steve asked her curiously.

"Yeah, turns out that our Arsonist killed the mother and the daughter first with a bullet to the head, paralysing the father and then burnt him alive with his dead family" She told them. "I don't know whether we're dealing with an Arsonist who graduated up to murder and is now having fun with it or a murderer who used fire to hide the extent of his crimes."

There were silence for a moment before Chin spoke.

"Neither option is a good one" He said grimly. "I know Detective Lee though, he was just starting off when I was… well when I was still there. He was a good cop with good instincts, kept himself to himself though and always refuse to take a partner with anyone even though the Captain offered him one on more than one occasion. He came over here when he was twenty five, I think that he had a partner once before and that partner probably died on the job, he may have blamed himself for it hence why he hasn't worked with anyone since. He's talented when it comes to the Arsonist side so he should be able to help us with that side of things, while we focus on the murder aspect of it."

"Chin stay here and run things, Kono is talking to Detective Lee now and getting the names from him of the previous victims while Jack is searching his database for information on them. When Jack has finished tell him that I want him and Lee to go to the last crime scene before this one and see if there is anything there that has been used here. We need to start establishing links. Lee mentioned a signature so perhaps it that signature which means we'll catch him. Danni and I are going to head to the Kane family fire and see the same thing, which was where the first murder took place. When you're finished here then head back to headquarters, we'll meet you there." He told the older man who nodded at him.

"Let's go" Danni said as she peeled off her gloves. "Time is of the essence and we can't afford to wait around while this guy goes and finds himself another target."

Steve nodded.

"Keep in contact" He instructed Chin before they both turned and left the room.

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read.**

**An especially big thank you if you left a review or decided to follow or favourite. I appreciate it more than you know! **


	5. Interlude One

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett and Kono Kalakaua do not belong to me in any shape or form. I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the way she is in the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee and the bad guy of the piece however do belong to me though!**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here is the first of the interlude in the story. The interlude are done by the villain in this story though they won't give anything away when it comes to who he is, the only thing that is given away is the sex of him.**

**These obviously won't be as long as the main chapters but it's important and you'll all soon see why **

**I didn't expect to get the next chapter done so quickly so let's hope this is the beginning of a McDanni writing session!**

**Anyway please enjoy**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**After all information was power **

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Interlude One

After all information was power

* * *

**30****th**** September 2010**

**265 Nylonai Street**

**Waikiki**

**Oahu**

**Hawaii**

* * *

He always liked going back to the scenes of his crime just to see what the results were. It was dangerous he knew, he had seen enough cop shops on TV to know that, but the results outweighed the risks in his mind. He was a perfectionist when it came to his work but he was intelligent enough to know that there were always little ways he could improve the way he did things, ways of eliminating anything which might get him caught. Sometimes he overheard the CSU team or the uniformed officers speaking to each other, just little things but they helped him. He would know next time where he went wrong and he could adapt, change his methods until it was flawless.

There was always a crowd outside afterwards, nosy neighbours who couldn't resist coming to gawp and speculate over why their neighbours were dead. It was easy enough to slip into them and make his way near to the front, he always made sure that he never was at the front though, a few comments here and there about how terrible it was to the people surrounded him eased any suspicions they might have had about him disappear in a heartbeat. To them he was just another one of them, come to see the tragedy in front of them.

He was beginning to be able to recognise the firefighters who always dealt with the blaze and of course he knew who Detective Lee was, he had done his research on him as soon as he realised that Lee knew his signature and was looking for him. The man was a Detective who was to be admired, the only one in the whole of the HPD who had recognised his work when no one else did. He always made sure that the Detective was always a step behind but it always gave him a surge of pride when he saw the tall man standing there the same way he always was.

A frown came to his face when he saw that Detective Lee was talking to two people, two people who he didn't recognise from any of the previous scenes. One was a tall white male with short blond hair and the other an attractive woman who was slightly above average height, she looked native with shoulder length brown hair. They were huddled close together whispering over something, he strained forward slightly to see whether he could hear what they said but they were speaking too quietly for him to hear anything. For a moment he thought about getting closer but he couldn't risk it. Soon one of them would start taking pictures of the crowd to see if anyone stood out and he had to make sure he was hidden behind someone at that time or better yet gone.

He tilted his head to the side as the blond man clapped his hand on the woman's shoulder before he walked away from them, pulling a phone from his pocket and swiping at it. He watched as the man fiddled with it for a moment before he bought the handset to his ear, waiting a second before he began talking into it.

He glanced back at the woman who was still standing next to Detective Lee, watching her intently for a moment before he smirked; standing slightly straighter.

He had heard talk of the Governor setting up an elite taskforce who were meant to deal with the hardest, most difficult cases which occurred on the islands. There wasn't much details on them but he knew from listening that the man in charge was a Commander in the Navy who had made a Homicide Detective in the force his partner, a female Homicide Detective. The team had only been functional a week but if the talk he overheard from both the cops and the criminal element was anything to go by then they were a team worth watching out for.

He felt flattered that Detective Lee had thought him important enough to bring the new team in to work on his case or at least he thought they were the new task force.

His gaze flickered back to the blond man, looking at him with renewal interest, there was no doubt that the man was law enforcement though he suspected he wasn't a cop. It was clear from the way he held himself, the stillness which came from training, most people he observed would move around, a hand wave here, a side step there but not the blond. Perhaps he had some military training in his past but not enough to be mistaken for a Commander in the navy, whoever he was, he was not the man in charge; he was just a member of the team. The same with the woman, she was clearly new, a Rookie, there was no way she was a Detective nor could she be mistaken for one, she didn't have that gloss yet and yet the two of them clearly worked together.

A movement caught his eyes from the direction of the house and he turned towards it, his mouth curling upwards into a smile.

There they were.

The tall, dark haired male followed by the small blond woman. They were the Commander and his Detective, he'd stake his life on it which meant that he had been right and that his talent had finally been recognised and pushed up the food chain. It was them and their team who he needed to watch now.

He ducked his head when the Commander's eyes swept over the crowd from where he stood next to his partner who was speaking to someone from the CSU team. He watched, noticing the protective stance the Commander had adopted, he could see the way the Commander stood in the Detective's personal space, arms crossed as he continued to look around clearly waiting for her to finish speaking. To anyone else it would have just looked natural, a partner merely waiting for his partner to finish up but he had always prided himself on being able to read people, even people he had never spoken to before. The Commander was standing close enough that if anything happened then he would be able to cover the Detective with his own body to protect her.

It was an interesting fact to know especially if the Commander wasn't actually aware of what he was doing.

He turned his attention to the Detective and looked at her closely. She was very pretty, perhaps even beautiful, dressed in a skirt and a top which looked almost out of place at the crime scene. The clothes didn't mask what she was though, she had that gloss the other woman was lacking, something which screamed out that she was born to do the job she was doing. He could be that the feminine clothing was merely some form of armour she wore. He found his interest growing, a suddenly desire to speak to the two of them coming over him so he could get a better read on them both.

His smile faded when the Detective reached into the shoulder bag she was holding and pulled out a high tech camera, calling the native woman over to her and passing her the camera when she reached her. He saw her nod to the camera and say something, most likely telling the other woman to take photos of the crowd.

It was time for him to go.

He took another brief second to look at the four of them, scanning their faces into memory before he turned and headed through the crowd towards his truck just as the girl brought the camera up to her eye and began snapping photos.

It shouldn't be difficult for him to find out information about them. The only question was what he did once he has that information.

After all information was power and he was determined not to be caught.

He'd do anything not to be caught.

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read!**

**An especially big thank you if you took the time to leave a review or favourite the story or followed it. I really appreciate it!**


	6. It's different that's for sure

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee, Special Agent Ryan Moore, Agent Kelly Young and Martin Chen do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here we are with the next chapter of 'Burn'**

**As previously mentioned there are going to be quite a few chapters in this story and the rest of the saga which are going to be dedicated to other characters in 50. It's not just going to be Steve and Danni we hear from, there will be chapters from Kono and Chin and Jack and Toast just because I figure it be nice to see what's going on in their minds as well since they've all got a lot on and backstories as well.**

**I'm not quite sure how long this story will be because to be honest I never really know until near to the end when it suddenly just clicks in my head how many chapters there will be, the story is definitely not all going to be slow, trust me there will be plenty of action but we just need to build it up. They can't just leap into action though knowing Steve that is exactly what he wants to happen.**

**It will take a while for them to gel completely but I like to think that they are already slowly coming together as an unit who can get things done. All with their own strengths and weaknesses. It be interesting to see what happens next with them.**

**I love writing this story and this saga more than you can know so I only hope you'll carry on the journey with me.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Kono and Chin pay CSU a visit before joining Toast at headquarters.**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Four

It's different that's for sure

* * *

**30th September 2010**

**512 Adanian Street**

**Waikiki**

**Oahu**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Kono Kalakaua's point of view

* * *

Kono took a final picture before she slowly lowered Danni's camera away from her face, her eyes sweeping the crowd outside of the police tape. She would have thought that the group of people would have lessened now that the excitement of the fire was out and the fireman were packing their equipment up, readying to leave but instead the opposite seemed true, more people were gathering drawn to the yellow tape no doubt picking up talking material for the coffee rooms later on that day.

She shook her head slightly, wondering why people found death so fascinating before she pushed the thought out of her mind, thoughts like that could wait until later on. She slipped the camera into the back pockets of her jeans, crossing her arms over her chest as her gaze focused on each individual face she could see, taking in their expressions, looking for anything which looked out of place. She was pretty sure she got a photo of everyone who was in the crowd. Satisfied that her job was done, Kono looked away from them, her attention focusing on the team of CSU agents who were working quietly around her, looking for evidence on how the fire was started and more importantly evidence of who had started it.

They were surprisingly efficient, working well as a team and she found herself vaguely impressed by how they seemed to be able to work without words and yet seemed to know exactly where everyone was and what they were doing and what they needed. The Academy hadn't really gone into much details when they had been describing the team to the cadets, the only thing they had really been told was that CSU would be at every crime scene they attended and if they discovered something then they weren't to touch it but was to call a member of CSU over to collect the evidence. CSU would eventually get back to them with the reports regarding the evidence and that would be their relationship with them.

Kono had assumed that the way they taught it would be the way it would be for everyone, the officers and Detectives would ignore CSU and CSU would ignore them, but now she was beginning to wonder whether that was the wrong way to look at it and that the Academy might have been wrong.

Steve, Chin and Jack seemed to treat CSU like that but it made sense that they did. Jack was brand new to the department like she was, not only to the department but to the entire island of Hawaii, it would make sense for the blond not to know anyone other than themselves yet. Chin had been off the force for fifteen years and a lot could change in that amount of time, everyone who he knew were either gone or had been one of the ones who had turned their back on her cousin when he had needed them the most. Steve was a navy man through and through and they seemed to do things completely differently there. Steve didn't just ignore CSU, he tended to ignore everyone who wasn't a member of his taskforce though Kono placed it down to focus rather than Steve being a jackass.

Then there was Danni and she was the one who blew the theory out of the water. The older woman was on speaking terms with every member of CSU as far as Kono could tell, she knew their names, and she knew about them as individuals, she even knew the names of their partners if they were dating or married. Kono knew she had all their numbers on her phone and that she went out for drinks with them regularly and then there was of course her relationship with Ryan Moore the head of them.

Kono had seen them together the previous Saturday at the BBQ and they had seemed really close to each other though she couldn't tell whether they were just good friends or not. Certainly Danni's daughter and Ryan's son had seemed extremely comfortable with them both indicating that they had been around each other enough for their children to know them well.

She had thought it was just Danni who had adopted that attitude until she met Danni's former partner Meka Hanamoa who was still active on the force and who also seemed to be on good terms with CSU, enough that he had invited a lot of them to his BBQ.

"Hey Kono, you ready to get going?"

Kono turned, pushing her thoughts away, at the sound of her cousin's voice, her eyes focusing on him as he crossed over the wet grass towards her, dark eyes fixed thoughtfully on her as though there was something on his mind. She ignored the look though knowing better then to push Chin, if he wanted to tell her then he would.

"Yeah I'm ready to go" She answered him, her eyes flickering around her, a slight frown coming to her face before she looked back at him. "Where's Jack gone?" She queried.

"He's still inside" Chin answered her, coming to a stop in front of her. "Steve has him looking over the computer inside to see whether any of it his salvable or whether the fire has fried everything" Kono glanced at the house, raising an eyebrow when she saw how damaged it was.

"Yeah Jack is good but I doubt he's that good" Kono commented "Look at the place, how could a computer survive in that?" She demanded

"You're probably right but regardless we've got to try and see if we can get something from it Kono, the arsonist might have contacted the victims." He pointed out.

"Yeah I guess. So do you want to wait for him to finish? I'm assuming it's not going to take him long to figure out whether he can fix it or not. He'll probably end up bringing it back to headquarters to take it apart there."

"He's not heading back to headquarters straight away Kono, Steve is sending him and Detective Lee to the site of the first crime scene to see if they can spot any thing else which might show how this guy works. If we can figure out how he picks his targets then we can maybe figure out who he is after next."

"And Steve and Danni have gone to another one" She told him. Chin nodded looking around him.

"It won't take long for them to come back to headquarters either" Chin remarked looking back at her.

"Well in that case we better get off. We've got to stop off at CSU first so I can hand Danni's camera in to them. Danni had me take pictures of the crime scene and the people in the crowd and she wants them developed as soon as possible so we can compare them to the pictures which Lee took of the other crime scenes. We've got to ask for Agent Kelly Young when we get there, apparently she's the go to person for this kind of thing." Kono said, tilting her head to the side when Chin suddenly smiled, looking amused by something. "What is it?" She asked "Something you fancy sharing with the rest of the class?"

"It's nothing" Chin said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Just that it doesn't surprise me that Danni knows exactly who to go to when you need to get something done instantly" He explained. "Have you taken all the pictures then?" He questioned reverting back to the former topic of conversation. Kono let it pass and instead nodded at him.

"I've just finished taking them" She told him, fishing the car keys out of her jean pocket and twirling them round her finger. "Had any luck with buying a car yet?" She teased with a grin.

"I'm still looking" Chin responded with a roll of his eyes as they both moved towards the edge of the crime scene where Kono had parked her car. A glance to the right of the red vehicle showed that Danni's silver camaro was gone. She smiled slightly, wondering who out of Steve and Danni actually got to the driver's seat first. It was no secret that Steve always wanted to drive Danni's car and was determined to be the only one who did it just the same as it was no secret that Danni was determined not to let him drive all the time. She couldn't blame Steve though; Danni had a seriously sweet ride, much better then the blue truck which Steve had got himself at Danni's insistence.

"Well look harder" Kono said looking towards her cousin, a grin softening her words. "Because me having to swing by and pick you up because your motorbike is in the shop getting work done on it is seriously cutting into my surfing times in the morning. It's bad enough that boss number one wants us in before nine every morning for team briefings without having that as well." She pointed out as she unlocked the car and pulled the driver's door open. Chin laughed.

"Well I appreciate the sacrifice. Today will be the last time you have to do it, I'll be back on my bike tomorrow." He said dryly. "And I'll get a car soon but it's got to be a good car, I'm not going to spend all that money on one just for the sake of it."

"Maybe get a car like Danni's then, you spend enough time checking it out when you see it" Kono suggested as she climbed in. "Or better yet why don't you take someone with you to go and get it then you can ask their opinion. Jack only has a rental at the moment so he'll be on the lookout for a car of his own, especially as he'll be living here now with his kids and his sister. Didn't he say they were arriving today?" She asked curiously.

Chin nodded as he pulled his seatbelt on.

"The flight they're on is due to land at eight this evening" Chin said with a half-smile. "Jack's got a app downloaded on his laptop and his phone literally counting down the seconds until they get here. I think it's safe to say that he's looking forward to seeing them again."

"Who could blame him, it's been a week now right? That's a long time to be without your kids." Kono responded, glancing over her shoulder as she reversed out of the space and began driving towards the nearest highway which would take them directly to the building that CSU were based in. They drove in a comfortable silence for a minute or so when Chin spoke.

"So how are you finding all of this then?" He queried, "Is being on the force like you expected it to be?"

Kono hit her indicator taking a road to the right as she considered his question carefully. Glancing back towards him she shook her head.

"The honest answer to that is no." She stated. "But I think it's because I expected to start off like the rest of you did, you know wearing the uniform daily, partnering up and walking a beat but instead I've somehow landed the job which every uniformed police officer would probably give their right arm for. Officers who have served their time for much longer than I have and yet I'm the one here, working the elite cases on the island with you and the others." She said, gripping the steering wheel tightly in her hands. "I mean I know I've struck gold and having Steve and Danni as my bosses is a stroke of luck as well but it still feels like a lot of pressure you know? I don't want them to think they made the wrong decision by hiring me or to let them or you down in anyway." She admitted.

She heard Chin breathe out nosily but kept her eyes on the road in front of her, it was mid-morning and the traffic was beginning to build up for the midday rush hour.

"You're going to make mistakes Kono, we all will but if you weren't good enough to be here then you wouldn't be here. Steve knows what he's looking for in his team and he's hand selected us all including Danni so he saw something in you that he thinks is worth having on his team. That's all you have to rememebr."

"Yeah but you and Danni…" Kono began saying when Chin cut over her.

"Look just keep doing what you're doing Kono and you'll be fine. I'm proud of you and as for Danni, well do you think you'd be here if she hadn't of agreed with Steve about you. Forget about the rest of us and just work your ass off and prove that you deserve this spot. That's all you have to do. Plus take this chance to observe everyone, you've got a good group to learn from, I mean there's the military man, the detective and the special agent. Not many people have that opportunity." He pointed out with a warm look at her.

"I've been paying attention Cuz like you said I should" She told him, the tension in her shoulders easing out of her at his words.

"Good" Chin stated, reaching out and patting her on the shoulder. "Now stop worrying about whether you deserve to be here okay. I'd be the first to tell you if you didn't." He promised before he took his hand from her shoulder and pointed across her to a three storied red bricked building on the other side of the road. "There it is" He commented.

"I see it" Kono said, hitting the indicator again and pulling into the car park, stopping outside the barrier. She rolled down the window, smiling at the uniformed officer and held her badge up. "Hi I'm Officer Kalakaua, badge number 58743 with the Governor's taskforce. I'm here to see CSU, they're expecting us" She told the man, who leaned down and peered into the car. Kono glanced to the side as Chin held his badge up as well.

"Okay Officer Kalakaua, head on through" He stated, turning and waving at the other man in the small security building. Kono flashed him a smile as the barrier rose and drove through.

"Tell me, just how much did you enjoy announcing yourself that way?" Chin teased with a laugh as she turned and grinned widely at him.

"Not going to lie Cuz it felt pretty damn good." She commented, pulling into a free parking spot and killed the engine, she unclipped her seatbelt and pushed her car door open, stepping back into the warm breeze, a smile coming to her face as it ruffled through her hair. Closing the door behind her, she locked it and headed towards the entrance, pulling open one of the doors and went in, aware of Chin right behind her. The guard behind the desk looked at them, his eyes lingering on their badges for a moment before he waved them over to them.

"Sign in" He stated, patting a hand against the book in front of him, Brown eyes watching them carefully. Kono nodded, filling her details in before she passed the pen to Chin who did the same. The guard glanced at the page before reaching for something under his desk. He pulled out a thin white card which he passed to her. "You'll need that to get through the doors here Officer Kalakaua, once you've finished bring it back here." He told her. Kono nodded, gripping the card lightly before they turned and headed towards the big double doors behind him, she glanced over her shoulder in time to see the guard reach under his desk again before a loud buzzing sound in front of her caught her attention. She glanced at Chin as he pulled one of the now unlocked doors open and stepped through into an empty corridor.

"You got any idea where we should be heading?" Kono asked Chin as they began moving around it, looking through the windows of every door they passed.

"Nope" Chin responded with a shrug. "When I was still on the force, CSU were in a tiny building off the main Boulevard. This place is completely new to me."

Kono sighed, glancing through a window before she suddenly stopped and took a few steps back, peering through the glass again.

"Looks like we might have just got lucky" She said, reaching up and knocking on the door before she swiped the white card in the lock and opened it, stepping in, her gaze on the tall dark haired man who was leaning down peering through a telescope at something. He glanced up, blue eyes fixing on her. She smiled at him.

"Hey Ryan" She stated

"Hey Kono" Ryan Moore answered. "You're looking for Kelly I assume to hand the photos in?" He asked, a slight smile coming to his face when he caught sight of her surprised look. "Danni's already rang and told me to expect you. I've let Kelly know as well" He told her, his gaze moving to Chin thoughtfully. "You must be Chin Ho Kelly? Danni's told me a lot about you, I'm Ryan Moore, head of this place" He commented with a wave around him. "It's good to meet you."

"Good to meet you as well Ryan" Chin answered with a smile of his own. Ryan nodded, glancing back towards the telescope.

"Kelly is based in the room three doors down on the right. You can't miss her." He said, nodding at them again before he looked away clearly dismissing them from the room. Chin and Kono shared a quick look before she spoke.

"Thanks for the help" She said "See you later."

"Later" He responded distractedly. They left the room again and headed down the corridor towards the door that Ryan had described to them.

"So that's the famous Ryan Moore" Chin commented lightly. "He's not quite what I expected from the way Steve was describing him." He said. Kono glanced towards him, opening his mouth to question him when he pulled the door open and ushered her into a room which looked similar to the first one they had just been in. A dark haired woman of about forty was sat behind the desk, glaring at her computer screen as she typed away slowly at the keyboard. She glanced up at them, dark eyes widening before she breathed a sigh of relief coming to her feet.

"Please tell me you're the Kono, Danni mentioned on the phone. The one bringing me photos and saving me from the horror of reports?" She asked hopefully. A wide smile coming to her face when Kono nodded, reaching into her back pocket and taking out the camera. The woman moved forward quickly and took it from her, looking down at it thoughtfully before she moved to the table at the side of the room. "It won't take long to get these developed, probably thirty minutes or so if that, once I have them I'll email them to you and Danni." She commented before looking up again. "Oh yeah, I'm Agent Kelly Young but call me Kelly, it's nice to finally meet you."

"Finally?" Kono said in surprise, watching as Kelly nodded at her.

"Danni-girls mentioned you all. I was meant to be at the BBQ on Saturday but something came up or we would have met there. I heard from the other you were there." She said before her eyes moved to Chin, looking at him thoughtfully. "Based on Danni's description you must be Chin Ho Kelly." She commented, flashing him another smile. "Yeah so I'll email them to you, thanks for dropping them off."

"Thanks for doing them so quickly, we appreciate it." Chin responded, smiling back at Kelly before he looked at Kono. "We should head back to headquarters" He told her. Kono nodded, saying her goodbyes to Kelly before leaving the room.

"She seemed nice" Kono said after a second. "Excitable but nice."

"Takes all sorts I guess" Chin replied blandly, the tone of his voice making Kono look at him quickly before she looked away as they exited back into the main foyer again. Kono handed the card back to the guard and quickly signed out. They left the building and got back into the car, driving the ten minutes ride from the CSU building to their own in relative silence. Kono's mind fixing on the case as she tried to figure out exactly who they were dealing with.

They parked up and made their way through the building up to the third floor before they entered the headquarters. Kono glanced around, not surprised to see that they were the first two back. Toast was standing at the computer table, his hands flying over the touch screen keyboard. There was a hands free ear piece in his ear and from the way he was nodding it was clear he was talking to someone.

He glanced up as they approached him and smiled at them before his eyes lowered again as he spoke, his voice mellow and surprisingly pleasant to listen to.

"Okay I got it, it should take me fifteen minutes to break that encryption for you Jack. I'll let Danni and the Commander know what you've found when they get back, they rang just saying they were heading back so it shouldn't take long for them to get here from where they were" He told the other man, making a sound of acknowledgement at the back of his throat. "Yeah you got it fella, leave it with me." He stated before he picked up his mobile from the surface of the computer table and ended the call looking up at Chin and Kono.

Kono smiled at him, realising that this was the first time they had been alone with Toast since he had joined their team.

"Sounds like you've been busy while we've been gone" Kono said. Toast made a sound which sounded amused as he nodded.

"Put it this way, I don't think I'm going to be bored here" He said before he stuck his hand out to her. "Kono right? Sorry if I got the name wrong, I'm not the best when it comes to remembering things like that. I'm Adam Charles but call me Toast. Only my parents call me Adam" he said with a smile. Kono took his hand and shook it, surprised by the strong grip he hand before he realised it and held it out to Chin who took it and shook it as well. "Chin right?" He asked, breathing a visible sigh of relief when Chin nodded.

Kono looked at her cousin, mentally shaking her head as she caught sight of the thoughtful look on Chin's face. A look which told her that Chin didn't quite know what to make of their newest member.

"Sounds like Jack found something" Kono said, breaking the silence, her gaze turning to the viewing screen. There were several pictures and electronic files open.

"Yeah" Toast said "He wants me to look into a name which Detective Lee has given him, apparently Lee has interviewed this guy twice because he's been lingering around the scenes showing too much interest in what's going on. I mean one scene you can understand I guess, you can just be passing in your car and decide to get out and see what is happening or you know happen to live on the same street but for it to happen twice is just bizarre."

"That's a good catch" Chin said, "What's the guy's name?" He questioned Toast.

"It's Martin Chen" Toast answered before his phone went off, he took the ear piece out and pressed the connect button putting the phone on loud speaker. "Hello?"

"Toast" Steve answered coolly over the phone, the tone making Kono raise an eyebrow though Toast either ignored it or picked up on it.

"That's me, what do you need?" He answered lightly.

"Update" Steve said abruptly. Kono raised an eyebrow when she suddenly heard Danni speak quietly in the background, she couldn't make out the words but there was no mistaking the scolding tone of her voice. There was a muffled sound as though Steve had covered the mouth piece to answer before he spoke again, an undercurrent to his voice of annoyance. "Sorry Toast, could you provide us with an update on the others? Are they there yet or is it just you."

Kono choked back a laugh as Chin spoke, the grin on his face reflecting in his tone.

"Kono and I are back Steve." He announced.

"And Jack just called in with a lead he wants me to check out. He's about twenty five minutes out but him and Lee are on their way back now." Toast added.

"What lead did he find?" Steve asked.

"He's got a name of someone who he wants me to check out, someone called Martin Chen." Toast answered, typing the name into the HPD and NSA database as he spoke.

"Wait a minute Toast, Danni's just going through the files, the name Martin Chen is familiar to her." Steve commented. Kono shook her head. Clearly Steve had won the driver's seat if Danni was looking through files. "I'm just putting you on loudspeaker."

"Hey Toast, I've got Martin Chen here, looks like he's a local man who Lee has spoken to before at two of the other fires?" Danni asked.

"That sounds like the one Jack was talking about Blondie" Toast agreed. "I'm just bringing his details up now." He stated. Kono watched as the screen suddenly flooded with information about Martin Chen, the side of the screen taken up by a photo of him. He looked to be in his late thirties, dark hair, dark eyed, glaring sullenly into the camera.

"We've got his details up Danni" Kono said, placing her palms on the table and leaning forward.

"Yeah what we got?" Steve answered for Danni.

"Martin Chen, he's thirty four years old, lived in the same two block radius for his whole life from the look of it. He's native to the island and has a juvenile record which is sealed at the moment. Looks like apart from a few assault charges which were later dropped he's kept his nose clean. He's married as well to someone called Rita but no kids." Kono commented, her eyes moving over the screen.

"We need to see that Juvenile record" Danni said. "Chin find out who the judge is on duty and see if you can convince them to sign a waiver to let us view his record. Toast be ready to step in if that fails. Kono can you run a background check on Martin and see what you come up with, I want to know who he hangs out with. Even if he's not the guy setting the fires I've got a feeling that he's involved somehow. We'll be with you in ten" She said.

"You got it Boss" Kono said just before Toast ended the call. The three of them glanced at each other before Chin spoke.

"You heard the lady, we've got work to do."

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read.**

**An especially big thank you if you've left a review, or decided to follow or favourite the story, it means more to me then you can know and always makes me write harder **


	7. I can't go Steve

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee, Special Agent Ryan Moore, Agent Kelly Young and Martin Chen do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here we are with the next chapter of 'Burn'**

**I'm sorry for the slight delay in getting this story to you! It's been a crazy few weeks and it's only been in the past day or so that I've been in a proper writing mood. The good news is though that I actually have this story completely planned through from start to finish for the first time so I know exactly where the story needs to go. **

**Just so you all know, I've been going back to the first story in the saga 'the beginning' and updating it so it is more in line with the Danni we all know and love from this stage. I understand hers and Steve and Chin's and Kono's character a hell of a lot more now than I did when I first started writing this so it's just makes sense to go back and tidy everything up including the plot threads which were slightly lose. If you do go back then please, please, please do not read past chapter three yet as that is as far as I got. So far at least two of the chapters are 10,000 words long so there is definitely a lot of added content to it. So yeah if you have the spare time then please check it out.**

**I've know I keep saying it but I'm really, really loving writing this saga and I just want to thank you all so much for sticking with it and giving it a chance. I wish there was a way I could let you all know how happy I feel every time someone likes of follows or even reviews any of the saga. It's like someone complimenting my life work or something**

**Anyway enough from me!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve and Danni join the others at 50 and go through the plan**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Five

I can't go Steve

* * *

Danni Williams Point of view

* * *

**30****th**** September 2010**

**Danni Williams Camaro**

**Highway 68**

**Waikiki**

**Oahu**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Danni hung up the phone with a sigh, glancing down at it for a moment thoughtfully before she leaned forward in her seat and dropped the phone into her open bag, zipping it closed before she straightened up in her seat again. She glanced fleetingly to the radio which was on a station which seemed to be playing nothing but ballads from the 80's, wondering briefly if she should turn it off or put a CD on before she shrugged, turning her attention to the window and watching the scenery passing the car by.

They were on their way back from the scene of the first murder, none the wiser about why the arsonist had targeted the couple in the first place. They had been renting a boat and from what she had gathered from her brief talk with the old man who had rented the boat to them, had been due to return to their home on the mainland the day after the fire. Which had immediately brought the question to her mind on whether the Arsonist had known this and that was the reason he struck or whether it had been simple luck on his part. He or she hadn't killed before which made her wonder whether he had actually meant to kill the couple or whether it had been a mistake which had than triggered something dormant in his mind.

Danni closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before she turned her attention to the files which she was holding on her lap. The few files which she had managed to look through so far were good, the language used to describe the scene was clear and concise. She could tell everything which Detective Lee had done since the first case had been handed to him. He had even gone as far as to go back to link what had happened in earlier cases to the most recent ones.

It was refreshing to see someone else with the same skill set as her own when it came to making up files.

She pushed the thought away from her mind, focusing her full attention back on the top file, turning the top page and reading through the first paragraph. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she read Lee's analysis on possible accelerants the arsonist might have used to quicken the spread of the fire. Danni blinked when she felt a light touch on her bare forearm and dragged her attention away from what she was doing focusing instead on her partner, who she realised was watching her closely. She raised an eyebrow at him, making a questioning sound at the back of her throat to indicate she was ready to listen.

"What are you reading that deserves that frown from you?" He asked, nodding his head towards her lap and the files to indicate what he meant.

"Frown?" She repeated in surprise, resisting the urge to reach up and touch her forehead, instead she simply rolled her eyes when he smirked at her.

"Yeah the frown you've got on your face, it's the frown which means that you've seen or read something which has got you thinking; so I want to know what is it?" He stated, searching her face for a second longer before he focused back on the road, weaving in-between the slower cars in front of them.

Danni blinked at him, watching the side of his face for a moment, surprised by the fact that he could read her facial expression so well after only a week together as partners. It had taken Meka at least three months if not longer for him to be able to do the same and even now he still made mistakes.

"Hey" Steve said, nudging her gently in the side with his elbow. "You still with me?"

"Yeah of course I am" Danni responded with a shake of her head. "It's nothing major Steve" She said in response to the face he pulled at her. "It's just…" she stopped for a moment before she continued speaking. "It's just that this file is actually really well executed." She explained, resting her hand on top of it, her gaze still fixed on Steve before she looked away with a sigh and reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly feeling extremely tired. "Detective Lee is possibly the best Detective I've come across since coming to Hawaii except for Meka that is." She remarked, noticing the way Steve's eyes narrowed slightly at her comment. She ignored it as she continued to speak. "He seems to know exactly what he's doing and he's really good at it, but I've been through three of those files now and there is nothing apart from the signature which links them together. The victims are all different from each other at first glance and the places he picked are completely different to each other as well. Whoever is doing this is capable and extremely good at covering their tracks and has no fixed method that I can see when it comes to selecting his victims. He's not going to be easy to track down and apprehend." She told Steve seriously.

He remained still for a moment as though he was running through what she had said to him in his mind before he nodded at her, hitting the indicator and pulling the car into an unfamiliar road, no doubt taking one of the many shortcuts which he seemed to know intimately.

"It's hardly a surprise if he or she has already had this many successes" He pointed out thoughtfully. "You know for him to be this good at what he does, he's got to have some prior experience elsewhere. He's ended up here in Hawaii but I doubted he started here."

"I think you're right" Danni agreed. "There's only two reasons that I can think of why he would come to Hawaii, either he or she came here because he was transferred with their job and is now based here or perhaps the authorities where they were before had closed in too tightly for his liking and whoever it is decided to cut their losses and leave before it could be pinned on them and the arrest made. According to Lee's note the first fire which he attributes to the Arsonist was four months ago so we should cross reference anyone who came onto the island in the past year with the names that are listed in the file and see whether any of them actually flag up with anything interesting. It might also be an idea to use Jack's database to see whether there's actually been any other similar fires. I want to talk more with Doctor Lange today as well to see exactly how the Hall family were killed, if they were killed before the fire started like she suspects then that will be another signature of the arsonists to work with. We can have her look over the other autopsies performed on the other victims and see if the same things happened." She commented, gathering the files together and slipping them into the plastic bag she had with her, placing them by her feet.

"We'll get Toast to have a look into it when we get back to headquarters. If we can pinpoint where the arsonist initially came from then we can get in contact with the police department there and speak to the Detective in charge and see what they have. He or she might be willing to send us the files they had for the case which will help narrow our search down. If we're lucky than one of the people from those files will be on a flight manifest to here." Steve responded.

Danni nodded, making a sound of amusement at the back of her throat, twisting round slightly in her seat so she could look at Steve.

"Yeah Toast can add it to the pile of stuff he's already been given by us to do." She commented dryly, before she lifted her hand up and brushed a few stray hairs away from her eyes. "These are all good ideas for us to follow through with but I think we should focus our attention on Martin Chen first, even if it's just for us to rule him out as a suspect in the case. I know that Detective Lee already spoke to him and decided he wasn't involved but I still think it's pretty suspicious that he just happens to be at two of the most recent crime scenes. Especially when the two crime scenes in question are on opposite sides of the island to each other." She said, her eyes narrowing slightly in thought, her gaze fixed forward, absently watching the blue car in front of them. "I want to see the photos of him that Lee took so I can see his expression while he was looking at the house. Somehow I get the feeling that he's not going to be too cut up over it. I'll give Agent Young a call when we get back to headquarters as well as see if she's developed the photos Kono took yet."

Steve nodded, twisting the steering wheel and pulling into the Aliiolani Hale car park, parking her car into her reserved space and killed the engine. Danni took a moment gathering her things before she climbed out the car, closing the door behind her and looking around out of habit while Steve locked up. She glanced towards him and nodded at him before they moved round the car, heading across the crowded car park and into the building. Danni flashed her badge at the security guard who waved them through before they headed to the elevator.

The journey up to their floor was quiet. Danni risked a glance towards Steve but he was staring in front of him with a preoccupied look on his face. She wondered what he was thinking but ignored the impulse to ask. She was already beginning to get the picture that Steve would only speak about what he was thinking when he was ready to. Pushing him would probably just cause him to shut down.

They exited the elevator when the doors slid open and made their way down the corridor, Danni sparing Steve a smile when he held the door open for her before she stepped into the bulpen, her eyes moving around her taking everything in. Toast and Kono were standing on opposite sides of the computer table to each other, typing away on what appeared to be two different keyboards and systems independent from one another, while Chin was in his office, pacing to and fro in front of his desk, his mobile to his ear, clearly waiting for something. No doubt he was on the phone to the judge attempting to get the warrant Danni had requested.

"Kono" Steve said, brushing past Danni. "What have we got on Martin Chen?"

Danni rolled her eyes at the abrupt tone he used but remained quiet, making a mental note to have another small chat with him about the voice he used with their team. She moved to the table, taking the space next to Toast and smiled at him when he glanced up at her before she focused her attention on Kono as the younger woman spoke, sounding frustrated.

"There's not much boss " She admitted, her eyes flickering between the two of them as she reached up and absently gripped her ponytail in her hand. "Chen works as a front of house cashier in a bank. He's been married for just over five years but they don't have any children," Kono explained. "He's got two brothers who both live on the mainland, one in Ohio the other in Chicago and an older sister who lives on the big island. As far as I can tell from his phone records he has nothing to do with the three of them unless you count the odd phone call on Christmas day or their birthday as something meaningful."

"Was there anything else you found out about him?" Danni asked, taking the files out of the plastic bag and resting them on the table. Kono shook her head.

"Not really Danni-girl, I looked into his credit card and bank details but they seem pretty normal. It doesn't look like he goes out much so I'm assuming he's not got many friends. From what I can see from this" She said, waving her hand towards the screen which was covered in statements. "He literally goes to work and then goes back home and goes then back to work and then back home. The only thing he seems to do which is different is occasionally go and buy some groceries."

"Where does he work and live?" Steve asked, crossing his arms over his chest with a thoughtful look. Kono looked away from the both, dropping her gaze to the computer surface as she quickly typed away at something on it. Danni watched, tilting her head to the side slightly when Kono reached down, resting her fingertips against the surface and then made a sharp jerking motion with her hand. Danni raised an eyebrow as the map which she had seen on the table suddenly appeared on the main screen. She found herself wondering briefly just how much that computer table must have cost before she focused again.

"This dot here" Kono answered, pointing towards a red mark on the map, just over Hau'ula. "Is where Chen and his wife lives, while this one-" She typed something else and a flashing green mark appeared near the red one. "Is the bank which he works art, so as you can see they are pretty close together, he doesn't have to travel far to get to either of them."

Danni frowned, looking at the two flashing marks closely before she looked away and began searching through the files, stopping on one and pulling it out. She opened it, scanning the typed words before she found what she was looking for.

"So if his work and home are here like you said" She commented, looking up and waving her hand towards the screen. "Then why exactly did Detective Lee encounter him at a crime scene at Ko'Olina?" She questioned. "I'll be the first to admit that my grasp on Hawaiian Geography still isn't fantastic but I'm pretty sure that Ko'Olina is on the other side of the island from Hau'ula. If all he does is go to and from work with the occasion shopping trip thrown in, which I'm assuming is nearby?" She asked, looking towards Kono who nodded at her. "Then what exactly was Martin Chen doing at Ko'Olina? What drew him there? Did someone draw him there or did he know that something was going to happen and wanted a front row seat to it all?" She remarked thoughtfully.

"Kono" Steve said, turning to the Rookie. "Put two more dots up for the place he shops at and one for Ko'Olina."

"On it boss" Kono stated.

"Hey, I just got off the phone with the judge. He's not going to grant us the warrant until we're able to provide him with more evidence, if we can do that then he'll give that to us but apparently being able to place him at two of the crime scene isn't enough to justify opening a sealed court record" Chin stated as he left his office, his eye moving over them as he headed to the table.

Danni breathed out quietly, reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose, her eyes drifting shut for a moment before she opened them and looked directly at Steve, meeting his gaze and giving him a small nod in response to the question she saw in his eyes.

"Toast" Steve said turning to the dark haired man who looked up with a startled expression. "Find a way to get into that juvenile record. I want to know what he did and whether it can be linked in any way to what is going on now" He stated to Toast who nodded at him. Danni opened her mouth to speak when she heard the door behind them open, she glanced over her shoulder as Jack and Detective Lee walked in. "Good you're both here" Steve stated, turning back to Toast. "Toast, I want you to stay here with Detective Lee and start working through the files, check the names and see if any of them flag up, if they do then perform a deep background check on them. If they are suspicious then I want to know everything there is about them. The rest of us are going to head over to Hau'ula and pick up Martin Chen and bring him back here for a friendly talk."

Danni glanced down at her watch, frowning slightly when she noticed the time.

"Steve" She said attracting his attention as she looked back up at him. "You're going to have to go and pick up Chen without me. There's not enough time for us to get to Hau'ula and back here in time for one o clock. I can't miss this meeting with the DA. They are waiting on our reports to build their cases against Doran and Sang Min and I don't want to waste any more time with it. The sooner those two are behind the bars the better for us" She explained.

Steve turned to her, an unreadable look on his face as his eyes searched hers before he nodded at her.

"Okay then" He agreed with a nod. "You've got an hour until you have to be there so stay here and help Toast and Detective Lee out with the names and background checks. The rest of us will head to Chen's work and home. O'Connor you're with me, I'm driving. Chin and Kono you're together." He instructed the rest of the team who nodded, heading to their offices to prepare for the journey.

"What's your plan then?" Danni asked him, tilting her head slightly to the side as she waited for him to answer her. He was getting a glint in his eyes which warned her that Steve's mind was already focusing on the task in front of him, once he got like that it was difficult to reach him. She glanced towards Jack in his office, unsurprised to see that he looked unfazed by the fact he was being partnered with Steve. Not that it really surprised her, from what she had gathered from watching and speaking to the other man, it would take a hell of a lot more than being partnered briefly with a mad man to bother him.

"Locate Martin Chen and bring him in for questioning." Steve responded briefly attracting her attention to him. "If he resists coming with us then…" Steve's voice trailed off as he shrugged, a look on his face which spoke volumes about exactly what would happen if Chen did resist. Steve would clearly have no problem in taking him down if it came to it.

Danni's gaze flickered around the others as they came out of their offices in time to hear what Steve had said. Her eyes narrowed slightly on Kono when she caught sight of the large grin which had come to Kono's face at Steve's unspoken threat. She would have to keep a close eye on Kono to make sure that they didn't end up with two McGarrett's on the taskforce. One was plenty in her eyes.

"Right" Danni said finally, drawing out the word, well aware of the other watching the exchange between the two of them. "Well when you're stopping him from resisting, just try and remember that we need him to talk to us so if you could perhaps refrain from beating him as a favour to me then I would be most grateful Steve." She remarked dryly, shaking her head as she began gathering the files together in her hands, suddenly wishing that the DA meeting was later on so she could go with them and make sure that everything that happened was above board. She pushed the thought away, looking over her shoulder towards the table at the back of the room, near the kitchen. That would be as good a place as any for her and Detective Lee to work from.

"I'll try but no promises Danno" Steve responded, glancing up at her, his mouth quirking into a half smile before he focused his attention back on checking his two guns.

"Yeah, yeah and make sure you wear your tactical vest Steve, you're not superman" She told him, switching her attention to Chin who was looking amused at the exchange. "Chin" She said, attracting his attention before her eyes moved to Jack "And Jack, make sure that he comes back alive please. I don't even want to think about the sheer amount of paperwork which would be involved otherwise. We'd be chained to our desks until late into the night trying to complete it and I'm pretty sure that none of us want to deal with that."

"You worry too much" Steve said before either Chin or Jack could answer her. He reached over and dropped his hand on her shoulder, squeezing down gently on it before he took it back, looking towards Toast who had stopped typing and was looking at them all closely as though he was trying to figure them out in his mind. "Toast before you start on the names quickly do a deep background on Chen, I know Kono found out a bit but there has to be more, hidden away somewhere. Get into that juvenile record and see what it's about. It might just be the leverage we need to make Chen sing. Danno" He said turning to look at Danni again. "Before you get lost in the world of reports and DA meetings, can you have a look into Chen's wife, maybe there is something her past which we can use if Chen decides not to answer our questions."

"That's not a problem" Danni responded, "Should I call you if we find anything?" She asked, raising a surprised eyebrow when Steve shook his head at her and instead turned to Chin.

"Chin do we still have the ear pieces which were delivered yesterday?" He asked the older man who nodded at him.

"Yeah, I unpacked them myself and put them in the storage room" Chin answered, Steve nodded.

"Go and grab them please." He said, waiting until Chin came back into the room holding a small box which he offered to Steve. Steve took it from him and spoke as he slid the lid of the box off. "Everyone take one." He instructed. "We'll communicate through these on channel four. Toast and Danni, you'll be able to use this to tell us the moment you find something out that we want to know about" He said, holding the box out to them. Danni gave him a pointed look at the tone he used before she leaned forward and selected one of the ear pieces, reaching up and slipping it directly into her ear. She wriggled it around for a second so it was comfortable before she dropped her hand, her gaze moving round the others to see that they were doing the same thing.

"I've already adjusted them to channel four" Chin stated "So as soon as you press the connect button they should start working."

"Good job Chin" Danni remarked with a smile at him before she looked back at Steve as he spoke to Toast.

"Send us Chen's work address and home address Toast." He told the younger man who nodded at him.

"You got it McGarrett" He responded. Steve nodded once at him before he turned to the others.

"Let's go" He stated, moving towards the door. He glanced over his shoulder towards Danni, meeting her eyes before he followed Kono out of the room leaving Danni alone with Toast and Detective Lee. For a moment she stared at the door realising that this was the first time she hadn't partnered with Steve while they had been at work but she forced herself to push the feeling aside. She had a job to do and she had to do it. Steve needed the information and she would make sure he received it. She reached up and turned the earpiece off for a moment so she could concentrate.

"Abe" She said, turning to the Detective who was standing slightly to the side of them, looking around him with a curious expression, clearly taking in the freshly decorated room and high tech equipment that the Governor had supplied them with. She waited until he turned to her before she continued. "I need you to start looking at the files again. I know you've probably read them a thousand times already but what would be helpful is if you can provide us with the list of name of people who you interviewed at the various crime scenes." She said, picking the files up and passing them to the taller man with a smile.

"I've already ran the names through CODIS Danni and nothing pinged up for any of them, or rather nothing major. There were a few shoplifting charges but nothing which would escalate to something like this." He commented, taking the files from her and shifting them so they were under his arm.

"We have a slightly more advance database than the one HPD use," Danni told him. "Trust me if they have done anything, anything at all, then we'll know about it almost straight away." She assured him. For a moment she thought he was going to argue with her but instead he shrugged and nodded at her.

"You're the boss" He remarked with a smile. Danni huffed with amusement before she pointed past him towards the table.

"You can use the table there. If you want a coffee then we have a coffee machine in the kitchen. Spare mugs are on the middle shelf in the first cupboard. I really wouldn't recommend using any other mugs, those mugs belong to the others. You might need to make a fresh pot as well, it probably hasn't been done since this morning. Once Toast gets into something he rarely stops for anything, not even coffee." She explained, glancing towards Toast before she looked back at Detective Lee, flashing him a smile as she turned and headed towards the computer table. She looked down at it for a second before she turned the ear piece back on, in time to hear Steve speaking.

"- understood?"

She blinked, looking up at Toast when he answered

"I'm hearing you loud and clear McGarrett"

"How long do you think it will take to crack into his juvvie record Toast?" Kono asked, sounding distracted as though she was driving. Danni smiled, shaking her head slightly as she logged into the HPD database on the surface, frowning slightly at it before she looked back up at Toast.

"Normally it would take five minutes but…" he began to say when Steve cut in.

"Normally? Why aren't you going to follow the same procedure you normally would use? We need this information fast Toast." He stated. Danni rolled her eyes, holding her hand up to Toast when she saw a dull pink flush appear across his cheekbones indicating he was pissed.

"Perhaps if you let him finish speaking Steven then you'd have you answer" She remarked quietly. There was a moment of silence before Danni spoke again. "Carry on Toast" She stated, turning her attention back to her own search page and typing in the name of Chen's wife, listening to Toast as he began to speak again.

"Like I was saying, normally it would take five minutes to dip in and out but now that the judge knows that we're interested in it, he'll probably have someone watching it and even if he's not, it still a chance we can't take right? So I just need to go through a few different routers from the mainland so it looks like the hack had come from there rather than here. They won't be able to track it back to this office but it will take about ten minutes for me to do it."

"That sounds like the best way of doing it Toast, even if someone is suspicious that it was us, they won't actually be able to prove it." Jack said, speaking for the first time. Danni's mouth quirked into a smile, if she didn't know better she would think that Toast had managed to impress the agent.

"What about you Danni?" Steve questioned. "How is the research into the wife coming?" Danni rolled her eyes, smirking when Toast grinned at her.

"I've just started it Steve. I was sorting Detective Lee out first, he's looking though the files, and making a list of all the names so we can run them through Jack's database like you wanted. Abe didn't have any luck with the HPD database so maybe we'll have more. I should start having some information on Rita within five minutes or so." She advised.

"Good" Steve said. "Make sure you keep in touch" He stated, sounding as though it was an afterthought.

"We will." She answered "And the same goes to you as well." She reminded him before she reached up and cut the feed, unsurprised to see Toast do the same, it was hard to concentrate with a constant buzzing in your ear. She watched him carefully for a second before she spoke. "You know this will get easier Toast, just hang in there okay? The first day is always the worst and you've been thrown in the deep end with this case."

Toast glanced up at her and nodded.

"I got this Blondie" He said, his tone indicating that he was trying to convince himself rather than her. She remained silent, making do with nodding at him before she turned her attention back to her own task at hand as she searched through the database for Rita Chen records. Her eyebrow rose as her eyes snagged on something. She read it, than reread it, a small smile curving her mouth.

Now that was certainly interesting.

* * *

Author note

**Thanks for taking the time to read.**

**An especially big thank you if you've left a review or decided to follow or make this into a favourite. I really appreciate it!**


	8. Bring them in

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee, Martin Chen and Rita Chen do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Hey guys, I'm really sorry about the long delay in getting this chapter to you. I was struck down with the joy of writer block for this chapter and it's only just gone. Hopefully that means that there won't be that be a gap between this and the next chapter.**

**I'm still enjoying this story so I still have no plans on abandoning it in any fashion so don't worry about that.**

**Writing Steve and Danni together is always interesting, they just seem to gel so well together to the point that it's sometimes hard to remember that they've only known each other for a week. It only really seems to sink in when I write them, especially Steve, interacting with the others on the team because he's still guarded with them at this stage.**

**I should also add that there is another story in the series now which is set between this one and family and written from Chin so if you haven't checked it out yet then please do!**

**Anyway enough from me!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Pick up time**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Six

Bring them in

* * *

**30th September 2010**

**Danni Williams Camaro**

**Highway 58**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Steve ended the connection with Toast and Danni, his hands tightening on the steering wheel as he easily navigated through the crowded streets, his mind focused on the case as he tried to piece together all they knew so far, trying to find something within the knowledge that would hint at who was responsible for these attacks. Attacks which clearly were growing in frequencies from what they had gathered and attacks where each fire claimed a higher body count. It would be only a matter of time before the arsonist became confident enough to attack a highly populated area like a shopping mall or a cinema. They just had to make sure they caught the person before he or she got that chance.

There was no doubt in his mind that Martin Chen was involved somehow in all of this, the only thing he wasn't sure of was what part in it the man was playing but it was something which they needed to find out. The only thing Steve was sure of was that Chen was not the arsonist who they were hunting. If he had been the guy behind it then Detective Lee would have found the link by now and arrested him. Still the fact that Chen had been at two of the crime scene was too much of a coincidence to ignore.

Steve's eyes flickered over to Jack who was sitting next to him in the passenger seat. He looked relaxed, staring out of the window next to him, a thoughtful look on his face. For a moment Steve found himself missing Danni and the way they bounced ideas off of each other. He and Danni were still in that awkward stage of getting to know each other and the way the other person worked but he was slowly beginning to get her to open up more to him and tell him more about herself. The more he found out, the more he wanted to know and often the ride to and from crime scenes was the best time to question her.

His eyes narrowed slightly on Jack wondering how the other man worked. He had clearly worked well with Chin which could have meant that his style would probably merge better with someone with a cop background rather than a military background. He knew nothing about the man next to him, only what information he had gotten from Chin and Danni over the weekend when he had spoken to them about the other man. He would have to get Toast to pull all of Jack's records and find out exactly what the Governor and Director of the NSA had given him to work with.

"So how exactly do you want to play this then?" Jack asked, breaking the silence between them. "Are we all headed to the same location or are you splitting us up to cover more ground?"

"We're separating into two groups" Steve answered. "Chin and Kono are heading over to the bank where Chen works to see whether they can pick him up from there. You and me on the other hand are heading to his home. According to Kono, Chen has a very stable routine, he either goes to work or he goes home. He's going to be at one of the places. When he find him, we take him in and then Chin and I will interview him and find out exactly what Chen knows about this situation because there's no doubt in my mind that he knows something"

Jack nodded looking thoughtful.

"Do we have any idea where his wife is?" Jack queried thoughtfully, Steve shook his head in response.

"Not right now but Danni is looking into her now, she'll find out where she is. There's a chance that the wife has nothing to do with this situation though, it wouldn't be the first time a spouse has had absolutely no idea what their other halves were doing when they weren't together." Steve commented.

"We should still question her though" Jack remarked, nodding when Steve made a sound of agreement at the back of his throat.

"We'll look into them both. If she's there then we'll bring her down to headquarters for questioning as well." Steve remarked.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Jack replied before he fell silent again. Steve watched as the other man adjusted himself slightly in the chair, reaching into the pocket of his black trousers and pulling out his mobile phone. Jack looked down at the screen, pressing on something on the keypad, his eyes fixed on something on it which brought a wistful smile to his face. For a moment Steve thought about ignoring it but he could still hear Danni's words from earlier on about giving Jack and Toast a chance to prove themselves, floating around his head. He could almost picture the look and slight push she would be giving him if she was there with him. Breathing out, he spoke.

"So Danni tells me that your daughters are arriving onto the island from the mainland today?" He commented, hitting the indicator and pulling into the next road on the right hand side to them.

"Yeah they are. According to this" He said waving his phone slightly as he spoke. "They should be arriving at LA within the hour. Then it's just a case of them getting their connecting flight and then they'll be here with me." Jack answered, his voice brightening as a large grin came to his face.

"How many kids do you have?" Steve asked, watching as Jack put his cell back into his pocket.

"Two daughters" He said "Poppy is the eldest and Isabella the youngest. My sister is flying over with them." He stated.

Steve glanced back towards him again, picking up on the undercurrent to Jack's voice which told Steve that the other man didn't want to continue to subject anymore. He was clearly protective of his children and not willing to discuss them with just anyone, especially if that someone was someone who he didn't know well. It was an attitude which Steve could understand all too well and one he had seen in Danni as well.

"Hey Boss are you there?" Steve blinked turning his eyes to the road when he heard Kono's voice in his ear.

"Yeah I hear you loud and clear Kono, what have you got?" He questioned, frowning slightly as he looked toward Jack, nodded at him, Jack clearly got the message as he reached up and activated his own ear piece so he could hear what was being said as well.

"We're nearly at the bank where Chen works" She told them.

"Good, what's your ETA?" He pressed.

"Ten minutes tops. We've got positive confirmation that Chen was in work this morning but when someone went looking for him they couldn't spot him, when they asked around apparently no one could remember actually seeing him for the past hour or so. The manager thought that he might have been on his coffee break though, apparently the employees often sneak out to the café on the other side of the road for a fix of caffeine." Kono explained.

"For an hour and they aren't concerned yet?" Jack asked in disbelief. "They must have some pretty easy going rules when it comes to their staff taking coffee breaks because where I work, if you're longer than five minutes then you get security after you to check you're alright."

"If he's not here then he might be heading home to you guys for some reasons or…" Kono's voice trailed off uneasily.

"Or Chen is on his way to another crime scene now which means that we might end up with another phone call shortly reporting another fire and murder."

"He's never struck that quickly before between fires" Chin pointed out calmly. "He seems pretty set in his ways. Lee thinks he stalks the victim first to learn their routines. I doubt if this guy is holding down a full time job that he can stalk two families at once without someone noticing and him getting caught. He just wouldn't have the time."

"True" Steve said slowly. "Unless he's not working alone, there's a chance this guy or woman doing this has a partner, someone who helps them out."

"Guys, I've got into Martin Chen's juvenile record" Toast stated, cutting across their conversation suddenly.

"Good work" Steve stated. "What did you find out from it?" He asked.

"Chen was arrested by HPD three times for being a peeping tom between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, apparently HPD received a lot of complaints from the women living around his parents' house about it. The judge who oversaw the case gave him community service rather than jail time but that could be down to the fact that Chen's dad at the time was an aide to the Governor and had connections, like the kind of connections you only get by doing a lot of favours for people, favours which might not have been quite above board. Even if that connection it looks like it was a close thing. There's nothing after the age of seventeen though so either Chen has actually changed his ways and become a model citizen or he has just learnt the best way to carry on doing what he was doing without being caught." Toast said, his words running into each other before his voice seemed to give way.

"Being a peeping tom is often the first step to a whole lot of other crimes" Jack commented thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure I read something somewhere stated that a lot of arsonist have a history of being a peeping tom as well."

"That's not enough to build a case and we won't be able to use it in out reports or line of questioning until the judge officially gives us a warrant to access it so we need to find the evidence the judge wants to do that. We also have to make sure that he don't mention his juvenile record to anyone or the whole case could fall apart on us and you can be the ones to explain to Danni about why that is." Chin said sternly.

"Speaking of Blondie boss man she's just coming back into the room and wants to have a word with you." Toast remarked.

Steve felt his mouth curl up into a smile at the sound of Danni's voice as she began to speak.

"Hey guys, I've been looking into Martin Chen's wife like you wanted Steve and she is quite the interesting person, interesting enough that I think whoever is heading to the house should definitely pick her up and bring her in for questioning." She told them.

"Why is that?" Steve asked his partner.

"Well you know that we have it on record that Martin Chen had been at two of the previous crime scene right?" She commented.

"Yeah?" Kono answered sounding curious.

"Well it turns out that his wife has been at three of them, maybe even more though that will take some more time to verify" Danni remarked.

"How was that missed though?" Jack asked, "You said Detective Lee was a good Detective, how did he missed a link like that?"

"Because it turns out that Rita Chen is a great deal smarter than her husband is. The first time she was interviewed by police was at the Kane boat and she gave her name as Rita Chen, the second time was at the Meyer scene and then she gave her name as Rita Larsson which was her name before she married Chen and at the last scene she said her name was Rita Perry which was her own mother's maiden name. She keeps changing her surname at every crime scene she's at. I bet if we locate her in the photos she would look different in each of them. It's amazing for example how much a change of hairstyle can alter someone's appearance."

"How did she fall through the cracks?" Steve demanded.

"Because no one made the connection, she was interviewed each time by a different uniformed officer who hadn't seen her before and I guess Rita is a common enough name here that it didn't twig when Lee was going through all the case files that they all three of them were actually the same person. It could be that Martin Chen isn't the one in contact with the arsonist, it could be that it's actually his wife and she's brought him into it as some weird romantic thing they do together."

"Toast see if her cell phone has GPS on it and locate Rita Chen using it, also hack into the bank CTV system at Martin Chen's work and try and locate him in the building, apparently no one has seen him for the past hour or so. We need to know whether he is still in that building or not" Steve stated.

"You got it boss, I'll find the wife first then get onto the other thing. At first glance it doesn't look like the bank security is the best so it should only take a few minutes to do that." Toast answered.

"Good, do it Toast" Steve remarked,

"Steve, while I have you there something I want to ask you." Danni remarked lightly, the change in her tone putting him on edge. He had heard her use that tone before, normally with Duncan and it always had indicated that she was annoyed.

"Yes Danni?" He asked, raising an eyebrow when she remained silent for a second.

"What car are you driving right now?" She questioned. "I mean I'm assuming that you took Jack's rental car and not my Camaro right? The same Camaro that I'm going to need very shortly to go to the DA meeting and then pick up my daughter from school. If I don't have my car then I'm going to struggle to do that which is why I know you would have taken Jack's car, right?" She said flatly. Steve froze, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. His eyes flickering over to Jack who was now staring at him with a half surprised, half amused look on his face. "I take it from your silence that you have my car then?" Danni pressed sounding irritated.

"It was a simple mistake Danni, just a reflex reaction to head over to it. I still had the keys from earlier and didn't think." Steve said, trying to sooth his partner. He knew from her tone exactly how she was feeling, she might as well have screamed the words out at him. "Can't Toast-"

"Toast rides a scooter Steven" Danni responded, cutting him off before Steve could continue speaking. He pulled a face, his mind moving over solutions under his mind landed on one.

"Okay" He said, trying to ignore the fact that the rest of the team were still listening in over the ear pieces no doubt finding the whole conversation amusing. "Okay Danni, head into my office. In my top drawer you'll find the keys to my house, head over there and into the house. I'll text you the code for the alarm system. You'll find the keys to my truck in a bowl by the front door. Take them and use my truck, I'll bring the car back to you this evening and take my truck back then."

"You want me to take your truck?" Danni repeated, the flat tone to her voice almost making him wince.

"That's right" He answered her. He heard her breathe out nosily before she spoke, picturing her in his mind. No doubt she would be rubbing the back of her neck or pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"You and I are going to be having a long talk when you bring my car back later. Do not damage it in any shape or form. Jack I'm counting on you to keep your eyes on him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Danni remarked. "I'm out of contact for the next two hours now because I've now got to go out of my way to pick up your truck because you took my car instead of Jack's car. Text me with updates on what is happening. The same goes for you and Kono as well Chin. I want to know everything which is going on. I'll take the time to start filling the DA in on the case as well." Danni remarked before they heard a click which indicated that Danni was disconnected from them.

"Erm I'll get onto finding Rita Chen's location now and let you know boss man, then I'll hack into the feed. Chin, Kono. I'll remain on the line for you so I can be your eyes for you during it. If Martin Chen is in that building then I'll find him." Toast said awkwardly breaking the silence which had descended.

"We're nearly at the bank Boss, we'll contact you if there's any problems or when we have Chen" Kono before there was the sound of multiple clicks meaning the others had left them to it. Steve felt Jack look towards him. His mouth open as though he was about to say something when he stopped closing it instead and looking out of the window again, something which Steve was profoundly grateful for.

He frowned, finding himself wonder just how pissed off Danni was with him and wondering why it bothered him so much that she was.

"How should we take the house?" Jack asked him attracting Steve's attention away from his thoughts again. He frowned slightly considering the question for a second before he could answer though Toast spoke.

"Hey boss, Rita Chen GPS is saying that she's at the house, I checked with her work and apparently she rang in sick saying she had a migraine or something and hadn't been in all day. I've in the bank CTV as well" Toast informed them before there was another click indicating he had disappeared again.

"Well there's your answer O'Connor" Steve remarked, "We knock on the door, gain entrance to the place and take Rita Chen in for questioning. If Martin Chen is there then we'll bring him in as well. The pair of them do not get away." Steve said pulling the Camaro into Chen's driveway.

"Yeah I got it" Jack replied pushing the door open and exiting the car. Steve followed, closing his door his eyes moving to the house scanning it. It was a one storey house with a small front yard but there was nothing about it which stood out to him, it looked like every other house in the street.

He looked over the roof of the car at Jack and nodded at him waiting until the other man nodded back at him. They headed up the path and knocked on the front door, Steve raised his eyebrow when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. A second later it opened revealing a woman. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, tall and slim with curly dark hair and Dark eyes which flickered between them both curiously.

"Can I help you?" She asked them.

"Are you Rita Chen?" Jack queried, his attention focused on the woman.

"That's me" She replied slowly

"My name is Special Agent O'Connor and this is Lieutenant Commander McGarrett. We're part of the Governor's task force. We're looking for you husband. Is he at home with you?" Jack asked.

"My husband?" She repeated, her hand gripping the door frame tightly in her hand. "He's at work at the moment. Is there any reason you need to speak to him. I can leave him a message or if you want to leave your card I can ask him to call you when he's back." She remarked.

"That won't be necessary, we actually need to ask you some questions as well" Steve told her, she looked at him, opening his mouth as though she was about to argue the point with them. "Let me be clear, you will be answering our questions Mrs Chen. The only decision you need to make is if you're going to do this the easy way or the hard way. If you take the easy option and come with us willingly to our headquarters then we can tell the DA and HPD that you did and fully cooperated with us, if not-" His voice trailed off as he gave her a pointed look.

"Okay, I'll come with you" She said after a pause, turning from them and slipping her feet into a pair of pumps, her head tilted towards them watching them carefully.

"O'Connor take her to the car," Steve ordered the other man, waiting until Jack had escorted her to the Camaro and placed her in the back seat before he reached up and reactivated his ear piece. "Chin? Kono? Report in"

"We just caught Martin Chen boss" Chin answered after a moment of silence. "He tried to do a runner through the back entrance of the bank but Toast had already spotted him on the CTV camera before he could get far. We had uniforms ready to greet him."

"Good job. We've picked up his wife and are bringing her back to headquarters now. Put Martin Chen in interview room one, we'll put his wife in room three."

"You got it Steve, we'll see you back at the headquarters" Chin answered.

"Yeah see you there" He answered, looking towards Jack and nodding at him. "Let's go."

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read.**

**An especially big thank you if you've taken the time to leave a review, follow or turn this into a favourite.**


	9. Mysteries and talks

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee, Martin Chen and Rita Chen do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Good news is that I've appeared to have defeated the dreaded writer block I was experiencing while writing the previous chapter which is good. I've already started the next chapter so that should be up in a week's time.**

**This story is definitely a McDanni one and things begin to happen from the next chapter or rather you at least get a McDanni chapter. I know exactly how the two of them get together now, when it's going to happen and everything and trust me when I say it will be good. However I need to get the ground work of it established first so please be patient with me for a bit longer. Steve and Danni have only known each other for a week even though they act as though it has been much longer than that and both aren't in the best place at the moment. Steve just lost his father and Danni still has issues as well but it is coming and it will be worth the wait. You might not even have to wait as long as you think.**

**I always like writing conversations between Chin and Kono because I find both characters fascinating, not to mention the fact that it's the one time they can both speak their mind without worrying about being overheard or anything. There is going to be a lot of core 6 love in this story and series, each character will get their chance to shine!**

**Anyway please enjoy!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Chin and Kono return to headquarters…**

Overall Romance

**Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Others though they are currently a secret which no one knows bar me!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated are either made up or I've got from the internet so I'm sorry in advance if I get an address wrong or anything. My geography on Hawaii is very poor having never been there before!**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Mysteries and talks

* * *

Chin Ho Kelly point of view

* * *

**30****th**** September 2010**

**First national bank**

**Addison Street**

**Hau'ula**

**Oahu**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Chin looked around at the crowd in the bank, the majority of whom were workers, all of them watching closely as Kono and a uniformed police officer escorted a handcuffed Martin Chen out of the back rooms and towards the exit of the bank. He looked slightly worse for wear, his dark hair stuck up on end while the skin round his right eye was already swelling up from where Chen's face had made contact with Kono's fist during his failed escape attempt through the back entrance.

"Excuse me, excuse me Sir"

Chin turned at the unfamiliar female voice coming from behind him, raising his eyebrow at the woman approaching him, her dark eyes flickering between his face and his belt where his badge was. She looked like she was a few years older than him with dark hair sprinkled liberally with grey pulled back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. He noted that she was wearing the same navy blue skirt and blazer as the rest of the female employees indicating she worked there. A quick look at her badge confirmed that she was the assistant manager.

"Yes Ma'am?" He asked, keeping his face impassive. Her eyes flickered past him for a moment before they focused back on his face, a look of mingled curiosity and interest in her dark gaze.

"I'm sorry to bother you but do you know if this will go on much longer? We need to reopen the bank, the early afternoon period is one of our busiest times of the day and we can't afford to be out of action for long." She informed him, rubbing her hands together as though she was washing them.

"I understand that Ma'am and we're doing everything we can to get this dealt with quickly. Once we've escorted Mr Chen from the premises you'll be able to open the front of house again though the back area will still be in lock down for the present time." He answered, his voice polite though there was an undercurrent to it which she clearly picked up on.

"I see" She said slowly, making no move to return to the others. He ignored her for a moment, looking over his shoulder and through the glass panes in time to see Kono pushing Chen into the back of a police car before she turned her attention to the officer who had entered with them, obviously giving him instructions. Chin smiled, shaking his head slightly before he looked back at the woman.

"Maryam is it?" He queried looking down at her badge again and waiting until she nodded at him before he continued to speak to her. "Is it possible you could take me to Martin Chen's office please?" He asked with a flash of a smile, noting the sudden pink flush which came across her cheekbones. She swallowed and nodded at him.

"Of course, follow me Detective Kelly" She said, turning and heading through the way they had initially gone when they had raided the bank. "Marty doesn't have an office, only managers and assistant managers have that but he does have his own personal work space," She informed Chin as they moved past rows of small work spaces. Chin looked around him carefully, taking a mental note of everything when Maryam suddenly stopped next to a small area. "This is where Marty sat when he wasn't serving behind the counters" She informed him.

"Thank you, if you could head back out and re-join the others employees than I would appreciate it. The sooner we can get on the sooner you'll be free to carry on with your day." Chin said, reaching into his pocket and taking out a pair of the adhesive gloves which Danni insisted they all carried with them at all time. He glanced up when he realised Maryam was still standing in front of him, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as though she was nervous. "Is there something else you'd like to tell me?" Chin prompted.

"It's just… I can't see Marty doing anything which justifies him being taken in handcuffs from here. He's a good man Detective, polite to everyone, maybe a little quiet but that's just the way some people are. He's dedicated to his wife as well. He doesn't even socialise with the other people on the team because he says he has to get back home to her. I'm positive that you've got the wrong man." She informed him.

"Martin Chen is a person of interest in an ongoing investigation, if he has nothing to do with it then he'll be released and back at work with you tomorrow, now Maryam please re-join the others at the front of the bank." Chin commented, his voice making it clear that it was no longer a suggestion but an order.

She nodded at him, shooting the surrounding area another glance before she moved passed him heading back out the way they had come. Chin waited until she was gone before he pulled the gloves on and turned his attention to the desk. It was surprisingly tidy, everything in its place. Chen's half full coffee mug was on a coaster and there was nothing out of place. He reached down and picked the papers up from the surface, flicking through them but they appeared to just be bank details for customers. He placed the papers down and searched through the pots, picking up a key from one of them and inserted it in the desk drawer lock, it turned easily in his hand. Pulling open the drawer he looked through it but again nothing stood out. The only things in there that Chin could see where things that you would expect to find in a drawer at work. He closed it, locking it again and placed the key back where he found it. His eyes lingering on the frame picture of a young woman about the same age as Chen, no doubt his wife.

"Did you find anything Cuz?"

Chin glanced round at Kono's voice and shook his head at her.

"Nothing of interest at first glance" He admitted with a sigh. "We'll have one of the uniforms call a member of CSU down here. There's always a chance that he was a secret compartment somewhere that we're just not seeing though it's unlikely."

"CSU are already on their way?" Kono said, crossing her arms over her chest and shooting him a questioning look. "Why do you think it's unlikely that we'll find something here?" She queried. Chin waved his arm around him.

"Look at this place" He stated. "There's no privacy here at all, all someone has to do is stand up and you can see everything everyone is doing. If Chen was doing something illegal then it's unlikely he was doing it here. It looks like his fellow workers think a great deal about him."

"Doesn't mean he's not hiding anything, it just means that he's a good actor who can fool people" Kono remarked before she sighed. "It does look crowded here though" Her eyes turning to look at him. "The uniforms are on their way with Chen back to headquarters as we speak. I told them to be careful and to keep an eye out of tails or any vehicles acting strangely. The last thing we want is for another Roland Lowry hit and run situation" She commented, her mouth curling up into a half smile.

"That is true, I've already contacted Steve as well and let him know that we have Chen in custody" He told her as they headed out of the back area and into the main area again. Chin stopped by one of the uniformed officers ignoring the way the man's lips thinned as though Chin's presence personally offended him. "Officer Watson, we need you and some uniforms to stay here for the time being. A member of CSU will be down here shortly to process Chen's work space. I'd like one of the men to be stationed at his desk until then. We don't want anyone being able to tamper with the evidence or being able to remove something before CSU get here/" He waited for the officer to say something but other than a single nod to show that he had understood Chin's instructions, he remained silent, eyes staring straight ahead.

Chin shook his head slightly as he moved away from the officer and headed out into the warm sunshine with Kono at his side.

"I think I just got a chill from Officer Watson" She said as they ran lightly down the steps and towards the kerb where Kono's red car was parked. "Didn't he used to date Nyla in high school?" She asked him curiously. Chin glanced over the roof of the car watching as she moved round to the driver's side taking in her concerned look. He waited until he was in the car with both doors closed before he spoke.

"Don't sweat it Kono" He told her simply. "That reaction is one we're both going to have to get used to on the job. As long as they follow my orders when I give them and provide us with back up then I don't care about what they say about me when I'm not around."

Kono shot him a frustrated look as she turned the key in the ignition and moved away from the kerb, performing a perfect U-turn before heading down the road which would lead them back to headquarters.

"It's not right though Chin" Kono burst out attracting his gaze. "You're part of the Governor's taskforce now, you were handpicked for it. People should show you some respect and not treat you as though you have the plague or something. It's not fair or right and you know it."

Chin remained silent for a moment, watching as Kono's hands tightened on the steering wheel before he spoke his voice calm and even.

"There's very little about this job which is fair Kono and it's a fact you're going to have to adapt to if you want to survive in this business" He told her softly. "The cop back there" He stated, jabbing his thumb back over his shoulder in the direction they have come from. "Thinks I'm a dirty cop who doesn't deserve to wear the badge that he's so proud of. They think in their heads that because I was John McGarrett's partner that I have something over Steve and that I'm using that knowledge as leverage to be on the taskforce. They can't bring themselves to believe that Steve chose me because he believes that I'm the best suited for the job. If they realise that then they will have to accept that everything they believed was a lie and that they forced an innocent cop from his job based on nothing but hearsay and gossip." He stated, feeling his face fall into an expressionless mask, hiding his emotions from her.

"Chin I-" Kono began to say, stopping when he cut across her.

"Do you think it's fair that a Detective of Danni's calibre will probably never get further then she is now because she's female and from the mainland? She has to work twice as hard as everyone else on a daily basis because some cops look at her and just see a pretty face instead of seeing what's beneath it and actually listening to what she has to say. You could learn a lot from her Kono, more than you could learn from me or the others because she's the only one who has been exactly where you are now and survived because that's what you'll be doing this first year. You'll be surviving, taking each day as it comes. You might have escaped the crap assignments that HPD would have sent you on due to your connection to me but you're going to be under extreme pressure in this team. We deal with the elite cases which means no mistakes. You'll be under intense scrutiny at all times and every officer you come across will want your job and wonder why you got it over them. It's a fact of life in this job and the way things work here on the force Kono. You just need to build yourself up a thick skin and brush the looks and comments off like the rest of us do."

"I understand what you're saying Chin, I do but it doesn't mean that I have to like it" Kono said after a moments silence.

"No one ever said that you would like everything about the job" He answered mildly, reaching up and running his hand through his hair.

They drove in silence for five minutes when Kono suddenly spoke, a thoughtful note to her voice which had been lacking from it before.

"Can I ask you a question?" She said. Chin glanced away from staring out the passenger window to focus on her, eyes searching her face for a moment before he shrugged and nodded.

"You can ask though I can't promise I'll answer you" He said. Kono smirked at him for a moment before she carried on.

"Do you think Steve and Danni knew each other before last Monday, like maybe they met somewhere before in their past or something?" She asked, the question causing Chin to blink at her in surprise, his mouth partially falling open. Out of all the questions he had expected her to ask him that had not been one of the options.

"No" He answered. "Danni's been here in Hawaii for the past six months and before that she was living in New Jersey. Steve's been all around the world for the navy but he's never been to New Jersey before. I overheard him telling Danni that two days ago. There wouldn't have been a chance for them to meet before now, the first time they set eyes on each other was in his dad's garage last Monday. Why do you ask?"

"It's just…" she hesitated for a moment before she continued speaking, her words rushing together in her haste to get them out. "Don't you think that they act as though they know each other? As in know each other as more than colleagues or work friends? I mean they act as though they've known each other for a while and they do that thing where they share a look and have a silence conversation with each other and Danni already seems to know what is on Steve's mind at any given time. I mean take today for example, Steve just took Danni's car as though it was his own, there was like no hesitation in his mind about doing it and I know Danni was pissed but she just accepted it."

"There wasn't much she could do considering she was stranded at headquarters" Chin interrupted, rolling his eyes when Kono continued to speak as though she hadn't heard what he had said

"And what's McGarrett's solution? He gives Danni the keys to his home, his alarm code and tells her to take his truck and use it for the rest of the day. His brand new truck. How can they only have known each other for a week when they are like that? I don't even know where the boss man lives and Danni already has a key to the place." She said in disbelief, shaking her head as she hit the indicator and pulled into the Aliiolani Hale car park. She pulled into a stop and killed the engine looking towards Chin.

He raised an eyebrow at her and spoke, keeping his voice light.

"Have you got a crush on the boss man Kono?" He questioned, watching the way her nose crinkled up at the comment, the same way it had done since she was a young child and had found something he said disturbing.

"Definitely not" She said, giving him an unimpressed look. "He's not my type at all. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the fact he's good looking the same way I can appreciate that Jack is a good looking man but that's as far as it goes with me, besides anyone with a set of eyes can see exactly where the boss man's attention is focused and it's not me thankfully. I'd hate to have to punch my own boss." She commented causing Chin to laugh.

He breathed out a silent sigh of relief at her reaction to his question. The last thing she would need at that moment in time was a crush on their boss especially when that crush would have been completely one sided. He climbed out of the car, glancing around him out of habit as he stepped to the side and slammed the door shut before he looked back towards Kono.

"Same with Jack?" He pressed, raising his eyebrow again when Kono gave him a bland smile over the roof of the car.

"Looks like Steve and Jack aren't back yet. We should probably wait until they come back before we start interviewing Chen, Steve might have a certain way that he wants to do things and with Danni gone for the day he's the one solely in charge" She remarked as she leaned down slightly, locking the car before she turned and headed towards the building. Chin shook his head as he moved around the car and caught up with her just as she entered the building. They made their way through security and up the stairs moving through the warren of corridors before they reached headquarters and entered.

Chin glanced round, his eyes landing on Detective Lee, lingering on him for a moment. The younger man was sitting at the table near the kitchen, a pile of files in front of him which he looked to be going through, one hand was tangled in his dark hair as he read from one, twirling a pen with his other hand, clearly ready to take notes if he needed to. Chin nodded at him when Lee looked up before he turned his attention to Toast who was standing at the computer table in the exact same spot as when they had left him to pick Martin Chen up. He wondered briefly whether the other man had even moved in the time they had been gone but an open Lucozade bottle near him indicated that he had.

"Hey Toast" He said coming to a stop on the other side of the computer table from him, waiting patiently until Toast's dark green eyes flickered up away from the surface to look at him.

"Hey welcome back, Lee just made a fresh pot of coffee if you want some" He said, waving his hand towards the kitchen area. Chin watched as Kono nodded, her face lighting up before she turned and headed over that way clearly needing a hit of caffeine in her system.

"You got anything for us?" Chin questioned curiously.

"Well the officers who you send Martin Chen with have already arrived, they put him in interview room one like McGarrett wanted and are currently guarding the room in case Chen decided to be a complete idiot and try and escape, I mean he wouldn't get very far but I guess stranger things have happened and all that sort of thing. Speaking of McGarrett, his and Jack ETA is currently eight minutes and counting" Toast announced, his gaze going to one of the screens. Chin followed his gaze, focusing on one which looked as though it had a map with a little flashing purple dot, above the purple dot was a small bubble with the words eight minutes written inside it.

"What's that exactly?" Chin queried, nodding towards it.

"That Brah is NATS" Toast told him proudly, his face breaking out into a grin. "It stands for Navigation Automatic Tracking System but that's a bit of a mouthful so NATS will do." He said. "Blondie asked me to establish it because apparently it was something they did when she was in New Jersey and it worked there so she wanted it here and I mean she's like the boss so what she says goes right." He explained with a shrug, glancing towards Kono as she came up to them, passing a mug to Chin who took it with a smile at her. "It's still got a few kinks in it which I'll get Jack to help me out with but that shouldn't take long to sort out" Toast remarked thoughtfully, looking back towards it.

"What does it do exactly?" Kono asked, blowing on her drink.

"NATS has the ability to track where each member of the team is at any given time, or rather track their cars which is why there's only Danni's car up there at the moment. It uses the GPS which HPD install into cars when they go to be fitted with sirens and stuff to state where the vehicle is. I created a formula for it so it can use the information It gains from the car to indicate how long it will take whoever it is to reach the destination from the Homebase which is here, that's the yellow thing on the map" Toast explained. "It is password protected so no one but members of the team will be able to access it. I've put on every firewall and form of protection I know in it and I'll get Jack to add to it as well. Everyone will have their own colour as well. Danni's car is purple because that's her favourite colour. Once the rest of you get your cars and truck outfitted then I can add you on there and we'll be able to track everyone."

"And you did all of this while we were out picking up the Chens?" Chin asked in disbelief, using his mug to indicate the screen.

"Well among other things" Toast replied with a shrug. "Once you know the best computer coding to use for it the rest is child's play." He explained.

"Why do you keep saying that you'll have Jack look at it?" Kono asked suddenly, tilting her head to the side with a curious look on her face. Toast blinked shooting her a confused look as though her question baffled him.

"Why?" He repeated waiting until she nodded before he continued. "Because he's only Jack freaking O'Connor" He answered as though it was an obvious answer to an obvious question. Kono shot Chin a questioning look which Toast caught if the way his eyes suddenly widened was anything to go by, he spoke sounding almost winded. "Tell me you know who Jack is?" He demanded.

"Clearly not though it appears that you do" Chin responded. "Care to share with the rest of us what you know about him?"

Toast hesitated for a moment but before he could answer the door opened and Steve and Jack entered. Chin raised an eyebrow glancing back to the screen housing NATS before he looked at Toast, spotting the frown on the other man's face as he pulled at his lower lips. He looked over at Chin, shrugging his shoulder when he noticed Chin looking at him.

"I told you it had some kinks that I needed to iron out" He said. Chin smiled before he turned to Steve as the other man came to a stop by them.

"Any problems?" Steve demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Nothing major other than the fact he tried to make a run for it. Kono made sure he didn't get too far though." Chin responded. "What about you?"

"Nothing either, She hasn't spoken a word since she got into the car" Steve admitted. "Chin, I want you with me when I interview Martin Chen. O'Connor take Kono and have a shot at his wife and see whether you can get anything from her. I want to know which one of them is in contact with the Arsonist."

"You don't think it's them?" Kono asked, taking a sip of her drink, her dark eyes flickering between them all as she waited for an answer.

"No" Steve answered. "We can only place them at two or three of the crime scenes and Lee thinks that the arsonist is responsible for more than that. Whoever is doing this is skilled at it. Danni and I think that the arsonist honed his craft somewhere else, maybe on the mainland and came here at a later date. If he had been here at the beginning then we would have heard something long before now. Chen and his wife have lived on the island since they were both born which means that they've crossed paths with him or her here in Hawaii. If we can figure out where that is then we can use it to trace the one we want. Kono speak to a judge and get a warrant for the Chen's cell phone records and their house phone if they have one. From what Danni was saying earlier we should have enough evidence against them to get that. Toast, when they come in I want you to go through them with a fine tooth comb. I want to know everything about the people calling and whether any of them stand out. If you're unsure get Lee to help you when it comes to narrowing them down. He knows the traits of an arsonist better than any of us."

"The calls or texts probably started around the time of the Kane murder since that was the first time Rita Chen appeared at the scene. We should focus on that time period first" Chin added. Toast nodded, grabbing a pen and scribbling down on a pad of paper to the side of him, from the look of it, it looked as though Toast was keeping a to do list.

"Have you got anything else?" Steve asked Toast, meeting his eyes when Toast looked up at him.

"I've been doing the background checks on the name that Lee's given me from the files like you asked. I've emailed the documents and everything to Danni because she said she'll look into them when she gets home from picking Grace up from school. I've also been looking into the employees who work with Chen at the bank like Danni asked to see whether any of them pop out. It might be way that they met." Toast said.

"Good" Steve commented, looking past Toast for a moment, a frown coming to his face. "Who are they for?" He demanded, waving his hand towards a stack of files which had been left on the table behind Toast. Toast glanced towards them before he looked back at Steve.

"Someone from CSU brought them in about twenty minutes ago and said they were for Danni and that she needed to go through them or something. He didn't go into much detail and I was in the middle of a background check so…" his voice trailed off as he shrugged before he continued. "Her office is locked though because she has the other files in there that she hasn't gone through yet so I thought I'd leave them there for the moment." He stated. Chin watched as Steve's frown became more pronounced, he was silence for a moment before he spoke.

"I'll take them until tomorrow" He remarked, his gaze flickering to Chin's. "Be ready to go when I get back" He stated, moving away from them, towards the table. Chin watched Steve gather the files together before he headed back into his office, closing the door behind him.

"Jack" Toast said, breaking the silence which has descended. "I need you to take a look at NATS later on. It's still got a few bugs to it and Blondie wants it up and running as soon as possible and you know how much I hate letting Blondie down" Toast remarked causing Jack to laugh.

"Everyone knows that" He replied dryly. "I'll have a look later on or tomorrow for you" He promised before turning to Kono. "Shall we?" He asked. Chin grinned when he saw the way Kono's eyes lit up at the comment as she nodded.

"We shall" she replied, following the blond man from the room.

"What were you about to say about Jack earlier?" Chin asked once he was sure that Jack was out of hearing range. "Do you know him from somewhere?" Toast glanced up with a shake of his head.

"It's not my story to tell Brah. If and when he's ready then he'll tell you all about it I'm sure" Toast responded, a tone to his voice which told Chin that the other man wouldn't be swayed on the topic.

"Fair enough then" Chin said after a pause, looking past Toast as Steve's office door opened and the man walked out of it, looking around him before his eyes focused on Chin, a cold look to them as though Steve was preparing for battle.

"Let's go Chin" Steve said, moving past the table heading towards the exit.

"Oh boss man" Toast called after them. "I forgot to say that Danni asked me to tell you to text her when you arrived at her house with her car keys and to make sure it's after seven thirty because that's when Grace goes to bed and she doesn't want Grace's nightly routine messed up."

"Did she say anything else?" Steve asked, his shoulders tensing up slightly.

"Nope, well she did but nothing about you" Toast responded before he turned his attention back to his work, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

Chin shook his head as he followed Steve out of the office and towards the staircase.

"So I guess Danni isn't happy with you about the car thing" He commented lightly, watching the way Steve's jaw clenched at his words as though the other man was grinding his teeth together, telling Chin without words that the thought of Danni being upset with him was bothering Steve a lot more than he was letting on. For a moment Chin wondered whether Kono was right and that Steve and Danni did have a past together but he pushed the thought away to be considered at another time. "Okay, let's go and make Martin Chen talk" He stated, watching some of the tension ease from Steve as he looked over towards Chin with a smile.

"Let's do that."

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Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read, I really appreciate it**

**An especially large thank you if you've taken the time to review, follow or favourite the story. It means more to me then you can know and makes all the effort I put into writing the Danni saga worth it!**


	10. In the garden

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Mary McGarrett, Adam 'Toast' Charles and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee, Martin Chen and Rita Chen do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here's the next chapter for you all!**

**I'm sorry for the delay in getting it to you, I know I said it would be up last Tuesday but I ended up getting sick and I'm one of those people that when I'm sick I tend to just curl up into a ball on the sofa, wrap myself up in a blanket, stick on a TV show or something and not move for the rest of the day.**

**I'm not sure how long this story is going to be… I know where it's going and everything but there's a chance it might be my longest story to date… though don't quote me on that. Good news is that I know exactly what is happening in the next chapter which is always an added bonus.**

**We're jumping back to Steve's point of view now so hopefully it will be good and you'll see some sparkles beginning to happen!**

**Anyway please enjoy the chapter, next one will be coming soon!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve has a drop off to make…**

Overall Romance

**Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Others though they are currently a secret which no one knows bar me!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated are either made up or I've got from the internet so I'm sorry in advance if I get an address wrong or anything. My geography on Hawaii is very poor having never been there before!**

Other, other note

**There's a sister piece to the Danni saga called snippets. Snippets are short drabbles or story which are based on the Danni saga, some from the past, other from the futures, others are missing scenes from the stories already written which are too small to be consider an one shot and which I couldn't quite fit into the main story while I was writing it. I'm trying to update it once a week so if you like the Danni saga then you should check it out!**

* * *

Chapter Eight

In the garden

* * *

**30****th**** September 2010**

**Ali'iolani Hale**

**417 King Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

**Steve McGarrett's point of view**

* * *

Steve sighed, staring at the computer screen in front of him with a frown before he lowered his eyes down at his watch thankful to see that it had just gone seven in the evening. It was finally nearly time for him to leave the office and drive Danni's Camaro back to her home and pick up his truck up from her at the same time. He hadn't spoken to her since she had spoken to him earlier over the ear piece. That added to the fact that she hadn't replied to his texts throughout the afternoon giving her updates about the case with anything more than one word answers, told him more than words could that Danni was pissed off with him and he was firmly in the dog house with her.

He pulled a face, leaning back in his chair, mulling over the fact that Danni's cold treatment bothered him so much though he didn't know why it did, it wasn't as though she was the first person in his life to be annoyed by something he had done in the heat of the moment. God knows he had been given the cold treatment by women before both in and out of work, he had learnt to ignore it and wait for them to get over whatever it was which was bothering them, giving them distance until they were ready to talk to him again and yet he hadn't been able to do that with Danni. He had spent the majority of the afternoon thinking about her and the situation between them and the fact he had pissed her off by taking her car. He had found himself wanted to talk to her, to run things past her on the case and get her opinion on thing, the longer the gap between speaking went, the more he experienced an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, a feeling if he was being honest with himself, would probably have dispersed if he could have seen a flash of her smile.

Shaking his head, he looked at his watch again before he gave up and leaned forward, saving his work and logging off the system before he powered down the computer. A glance out of the glass pane showed that the rest of the office was dark. The others having left the office a couple of hours ago, all of them with plans for the evening. He had overheard their conversations earlier. Chin and Kono were heading out to dinner with Kono's older brother Mekhi at a restaurant though they had assured Steve as they were leaving that he could contact them instantly and they would leave the meal and come back to the office. Toast heading to a rehab meeting before he went on to what he had planned while Jack would have been at the airport by now waiting for his family to arrive from LA.

Steve blinked when his cell phone suddenly went off breaking the silence in the office. He picked it up from the surface of his table and answered it without looking at the screen.

"McGarrett"

"Tell me big brother, do you always answer your phone that way. All curt and obey me now in tone or am I just one of the special ones you whip it out for." A familiar voice asked. Steve blinked in surprise, his eyes widening briefly as he answered.

"Mary? What do you need?" He demanded, ignoring her comment about the way he answered his phone, innocent comments like that one somehow always ended up with the two of them arguing and not speaking to each other months at a time and it was something which Steve didn't have the patience for, not with everything else they were going through.

"Do I need a reason to call my older brother? Can't I just call you to see how you are?" She asked him, a hint of curiosity and annoyance to her voice. Steve raised an eyebrow, a million response on the tip of his tongue though he remained quiet, listening as she sighed over the phone. "I'll take your silence as a yes." She muttered, a peevish tone coming her voice which Steve was very used to hearing. "I'm ringing Steve because I've heard from Aunt Deb who heard from Uncle Mike that you've decided to leave the branch of the navy you were in and instead transfer to the reservists and live in Hawaii, running some sort of taskforce for the Governor of Hawaii, while living in Dad's house? Is that right?" Mary demanded.

"That's right Mary" Steve replied, tapping his fingertips against the surface of his desk waiting to see where she was going with her line of questioning.

"Don't you think it's a bit crazy for you to be staying in Dad's home at the moment? I mean it's the same home where he was violently murdered a week ago? How can you stand to be in there let alone sleep in there" She remarked an undercurrent of concern and disbelief to her voice. Steve could almost picture the way she would be pacing the room in her agitation, one hand pulling at her red hair as she spoke to him, of course that depended on whether she still had red hair or whether she had dyed it again. She never seemed to stay with a hair colour longer than a few months at a time.

"Where else would I stay Mary?" He asked her pragmatically. "At least with me staying here I don't have to worry about paying rent or mortgage payments. It was paid off years ago according to the paperwork which I found in Dad's papers. It belongs to us so it makes sense."

"It makes sense?" Mary repeated slowly. "Will you listen to yourself Steve? You're not talking about any old house, you're talking about the house where our father was brutally murdered by some psychopath. It can't be healthy for you to be there, I mean even you can see that right?" She asked him. Steve took the phone away from his ear for a moment before he brought it back and spoke.

"I'm fine Mary, I'll be redecorating the place soon and making it into my own." He assured her.

"You?" Mary responded making no effort to hide the disbelief from her voice this time. "No offence bro but you have absolutely no sense when it comes to decorating. The stories I've heard about your attempts to decorate your bedroom is enough to convince me about that."

"Firstly those stories are greatly exaggerated Mary and secondly I won't be doing it alone, Danni is going to help me with it." He told her, leaning back in his chair when she remained silent for a moment as though she was running his words through her hair.

"And who is Danni exactly and do they know you've volunteered them for this job?" She asked him.

"She's my partner Mary" Steve explained after a moment.

"Your partner" Mary repeated. "As in your girlfriend partner because that is fast work even for you Steve, how long have you been in Hawaii for? A week and you already have a girlfriend?"

"Danni isn't my girlfriend Mare" Steve answered. "She's my work partner and my second in command in the taskforce"

"How did you meet?" Mary asked, sounding genuinely interested in his response.

"Danni was one of the lead Detectives on Dad's case. I looked into her records and she's impressive. She's got a great closure rate on cases, she works well with others. She has this way about her which makes people confide in her. She's exactly what I need when it comes to a partner."

"And how did you get this amazing partner, if she was working Dad's case then that would indicate that she had a job with HPD right?" Mary questioned.

"Well…" Steve said, stopping for a moment before he continued speaking. "I rang the Governor and insisted that she made her my partner. The captain signed the papers while I was there"

"Wait" Mary said. "You kidnapped her and made her your partner without giving her the option to even consider it?" She questioned. Steve remained silent, somehow when Mary said it sounded bad. "Tell me Steve, is your new partner pretty?"

Steve blinked at the question.

"Danni?" He repeated "Well she's…" He began to say before he stopped. "I've got to go Mary, I've another call coming through and it's probably about the case we're working on." He told her, ignoring the sound of her laughter down the phone.

"Sure you do Steve" She remarked. "Just so you know I'm coming for a visit soon and when I do I want to meet Danni. Bye Steve" She said.

Steve opened his mouth to speak before he closed it when he heard the sound of a click followed by the dial tone indicating that his sister had terminated the call on her end. Growling, he stood up slipping his cell into the pocket of his cargo pants and left the office, taking a page out of Danni's book and locking the door behind him. He headed out of the building and towards the parking space where Danni's Camaro was parked. He unlocked it, climbing in and started the car up, glancing over his shoulder and reversing out of the spot and headed out of the car park towards Danni's home.

It took him fifteen minutes to reach her house, he pulled into her driveway, parking next to his truck and climbed out of the car, looking at his truck over the roof of the Camaro before he pulled his cell from his pocket and sent Danni a quick text to let her know that he was outside.

He made his way up the garden path, stopping next to the front door and waited, gazing around him carefully, he looked back towards the door as he heard the sound of the lock being turned before it was pulled open revealing his partner.

"Hey Danni" He said, meeting her grey eyes for a moment before his eyes dropped to look at the rest of her, widening in surprise when he saw that she was dressed simply in a vest top and a pair of shorts. He swallowed, looking back up and taking in her thoughtful expression with a hidden wince. He could detect the hint of displeasure beneath it meaning that she was still annoyed with him over the car incident.

She tilted her head to the side before she twisted round, picking up his house and car key from a bowl on the side and holding them out to him. He reached out and took it from him, putting them in his pocket before he held out her keys for her remaining where he was even after she took them from him.

For a moment he thought she was going to close the door in his face but instead she stepped to one side, using her head to indicate that he should come in. Breathing out he moved past her into the house, and took his shoes off, watching as she closed the door and locked it behind them again. She turned to Steve and held her finger up against his lip indicating him to be remain quiet before she waved her hand for him to follow her. He did, glancing round the kitchen, taking in the cosy light room before she spoke for the first time to him.

"Have you eaten?" She asked him quietly. He blinked at the question, surprised by it before he shook his head and spoke, pitching his voice low following her example.

"Not since lunchtime, there hasn't been the time" He told her with a shrug. Danni nodded slowly, searching his eyes before she waved her hand to the back door.

"Wait outside for me" She told him. He frowned before he nodded, walking past her into the garden. It was small in size, a two seat swing situated under the porch. A large hutch took up one corner of the area which Steve assumed had Mr Hoppy in. The rest seemed to be made up of a vegetable patch and some flowers, it looked as though it needed some work done to it though. He looked back as Danni walked out of the door holding a bowl in her hands which she held out to him. "Eat" she informed him. Steve took the bowl looking down at it. It smelt delicious and was some kind of stew thick with vegetables and what looked like beef.

"Thanks" He said, watching as Danni sat down on the swing seat, her feet curled up beneath her as she reached out and took a file from the pile he could see next to the seat on a small table. He glanced back at the bowl again before he moved towards her taking the spare seat next to him and took a bite of the stew, his eyes widening at the taste of it. It tasted as delicious as it smelt. "This is really good, did you make it?" He asked her.

Danni glanced towards him, her eyes softening for the first time as her mouth curled up into a half smile, easing some of the unease in his stomach.

"Yeah I did, Grace has allergies so it's easier to make her, her food than to risk her getting sick." Danni explained. "Duncan does the same, its time consuming but that's life." She remarked. "How did the interview with the Chens go?" She queried, looking back to the file.

"They are definitely involved" Steve told her after he took a few more bites, resisting the urge to guzzle it down in one go. He shot her another look wondering when she was going to say something about the car incident. She nodded at him.

"Toast rang me earlier when I got out of the DA office and said that the warrant had come through from the judge on the Chens phone records. What did we find from them?" She asked him.

Steve swallowed his mouthful and spoke.

"There's a number which called Rita Chen constantly mainly before the fires happened. We traced the number back to a burner phone and O'Connor used his database and was able to determine where the phone was purchased. We're in the process of getting the security footage from the store to see if anyone in it stand out. According to Chin, the brand of phone isn't popular so it will limit the number of people we'll have to look into." He told her.

"Good" She said. "Did they say anything in the interviews that we can use?" She asked, pulling a face at him when he shook his head at her.

"O'Connor took the lead with Rita Chen and he got some basics information from her but the minute he mentioned that we could place her at three of the crime scenes where the murders occurred she clammed up and asked for a lawyer. Her husband did the same thing to me and Chin as well."

"That's to be expected, they clearly have something to hide" Danni remarked with a sigh.

"We've got them in custody overnight, we can take another crack at them tomorrow morning. You and I can take on Rita Chen while Kono and Jack can try their hand at Martin Chen. Perhaps fresh eyes will help." Steve remarked.

"What are you going to have Chin do while we do that?" Danni questioned, flipping the page she was reading over.

"Have him help Toast work through the phone lead. If we haven't received the footage from the store by ten tomorrow morning then I'll send Chin to retrieve it from them. He can take Toast with him and they can view it there and then." He told her. Danni nodded at him. They remained silent for a moment before Steve spoke again. "Some more files arrived for you so I put them in my office for you."

Danni raised an eyebrow at him before she nodded.

"Thanks for that" She answered.

Steve focused on the stew, finishing it and rested the bowl on his lap. It was surprisingly peaceful in the back garden. The only noise breaking the silence was the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and the occasional noise from the hutch which indicated that Mr Hoppy was still awake and exploring his surroundings. He glanced towards Danni before silently sighing.

"Danni, look I-" He began to say, stopping when her cell phone suddenly went off. She held a hand up to him, indicating for him to stop before she picked the handset from the small table to the side of her and answered, her voice cool and professional.

"Detective Williams" Steve frowned, trying to hear the other side of the conversation but whoever was speaking to her was speaking quietly enough that he couldn't catch it. It didn't help that Danni wasn't speaking either, just making sounds of acknowledgement which was frustrating. He raised an eyebrow at her when she looked over to him before she finally spoke. "Okay, that's not a problem. I'll come tomorrow first thing, okay… okay… yeah don't worry about it. Bye" She hung up the phone, placing it back on the side before she turned to him. "That was Doctor Lange from the ME office. She's found something that she wants to show us first thing tomorrow. I can take care of it and meet you at headquarters, that way you can let everyone know what to do. The sooner we tackle the Chen's again the better it will be. We don't want to give them enough time to come up with a story which would explain things. We need to keep them off balanced" She remarked. "So if you drive yourself into work tomorrow then that will be good, that way I can go straight to the ME office as soon as I've finished dropping Gracie off at the breakfast club"

Steve remained silent for a moment before he spoke.

"Look Danni about today and the car I-" he began to say stopping again when she interrupted him.

"Look Steve what's done is done" She remarked flatly, the tone of her voice making it clear that she wasn't pleased. "In future if I'm not with you then don't use my car unless I've given you permission to. I don't appreciate someone taking my car without asking first. You know I was late to the DA meeting because I couldn't figure how to work the stupid chair controls in your truck and because I was late to that, I was late to picking up Grace from school. I have never been late to pick her up from school before and I don't plan to be again. I get that it was a mistake okay but it's one which can't happen again." She told him, turning to look at him. "That's why I think its best that you drive your truck into work from now on rather than me picking you up like I've been doing for the past week."

Steve remained quiet for a moment before he shrugged.

"If that's what you want then sure" He answered. "I understand okay and I'm sorry. It won't happen again"

Danni nodded, searching his eyes for a moment before she sighed, her shoulders slumping down as though all the tension within them had melted away.

"Good" She said. "Obviously we can use my car during the day, it's faster than your truck so it makes sense, we need to catch the bad guys after all" She commented, her mouth tilting up into a smile which he returned, the unease in his stomach loosening further at the sight of it.

"There's nothing wrong with my truck" He told her watching as she got to her feet and took his bowl from him.

"Keep telling yourself that" She teased before she sighed, reaching up and rubbing at the back of her neck "Do you want a drink?" She asked him curiously.

"I'd love a beer if you got one" He answered. Danni nodded disappearing inside with the empty bowl leaving Steve to breathe a sigh of relief that she seemed to have forgiven him this one time. A moment later Danni reappeared holding a cool bottle of beer out to him, he took it from her, using it to salute her before taking a long swig of it. He lowered it, resting it against his thigh as he leaned back in the swing chair, surprised by how relaxed he felt. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so chilled out in front of another person. He glanced towards Danni, watching as she took a sip of her wine.

"Is your daughter with her dad tonight?" he asked her curiously.

"Grace?" She asked "No she's inside asleep hence the need to be quiet, I don't want her to wake up because she always struggles getting back to sleep."

"Roger that" He remarked taking another swig of his beer. "How did it go with the DA then? Everything sorted with them?"

"Doran is a slam dunk case, it's safe to say that with all the evidence Ryan and his team collected, he is going away for a long, long time. If he ever gets out then he'll be an old man. Sang Min is good as well though Mia wants us to see if we can decode his ledger as well. If we can figure out who he's brought into the country then we could get a lot more convictions based on it, Jack and I have been working on that so when we get a spare second we'll have another go at it. We also need to send our reports to Interpol about the Lowry case. We've handed them several international criminal after all and they want all the paperwork to back it up." She explained to him. "Which for the record includes your reports as well. I know they would have taught you how to complete them in the navy so stop dragging your feet over them and just do them." She remarked with another smile. Steve rolled his eyes making sure she could see it.

"Fine but after this case is done. The arsonist is out there somewhere and he is probably already targeting another family. We've got to find him before he can kill more people." Steve remarked.

"Nothing is more important than that" She agreed quietly. "It looks like we've got some good leads on it, so all we have to do is follow them and see where it leads us."

"What are those?" He asked using his bottle to point to the files she was looking through. She glanced towards them and sighed.

"These are the files which Toast created on everyone mentioned in Lee's files. Jack dropped them off to me on his way to the airport because Toast had somewhere to be. I'm just looking through them, trying to see if there is anyone in there who leaps out at me as suspicious. The Chens are involved but they aren't the only one involved. The person we're looking for might be in these files" She said.

"You want me to have a look through some while I'm here?" He offered. Danni glanced at him quickly before she looked down at the watch on her wrist, pulling a slight face.

"I would, but I'm expecting a call in ten minutes" She said, an undertone of regret to his voice.

"I see" Steve said. "Someone I know?" He probed casually.

"No, it's just my mum and dad they ring every other day to see how me an Grace are and they always ring at eight on the dot without fail and I tend to me on the phone for a while. I'll probably go to bed once they are off, it's been a long day after all and I'm tired" She explained. Steve smiled, hiding his surprise at the relief he felt at her answer beneath it.

"You got a lot there, why don't I take half with me? It be quicker and I've got nothing on this evening." Danni's face brightened at his words.

"Yeah? That would be good if you're serious."

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't" He pointed out, softening the words with a smile at her. He drained the rest of his bottle and placed it on the side table, coming to his feet in a fluid motion. He reached past her and grabbed a stack of the files from the pile. "I'll head out then and leave you to your call. If I find anything then I'll let you know" He said. Danni nodded,

"Okay then" She agreed, curling her hand round his forearm and leading him through the house to the front door. She unlocked it and stepped back holding the door open for him. "Thanks for the help, I'll see you tomorrow at work. I'll let you know when I'm finished with the ME tomorrow okay?" She queried, smiling when he nodded.

"Sure see you tomorrow, thanks for the food and the drink" He said, smiling as she slowly closed the door. He stayed there a moment watching it before he sighed and headed towards his truck, pulling the keys from his pocket.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read**

**An especially big thank you if you've taken the time to leave a review or favourite or follow the story, I appreciate it more than you can know.**


	11. I don't believe it

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Max Bergman and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee, Martin Chen and Rita Chen, Doctor Rosie Lange, Doctor Richard White and Doctor Abigail Fitzgerald do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here's the next chapter for you all!**

**So first of all I know I suck and that this chapter has taken way too long to get out to you, so I'm seriously sorry for the delay. I have been writing plenty of McDanni stories as some of you will know so hopefully that will make things up to you all in some fashion.**

**This is the chapter where I guess things begin to really kick off, plenty of questions being asked but unfortunately not too many answers being provided at the moment. If anything they just end up with more questions than before.**

**I'm really enjoying writing this verse and I'm really hoping that you're enjoying reading it and all the side stories which are to go with it all. It's made all the effort I've put into planning it worthwhile especially every time I get a review. I wish I could explain just how much it blows my mind that you guys are willing to stay with me and share in the journey of this saga where there's not just the massive change of male Danny being female Danni and everything that entails but where there are OC galore. Your reaction to Jack for example just blows my mind so thank you!**

**I know exactly where I'm going with this story so as long as my muse plays ball and stops getting distracted every two seconds then the next chapter should be up fairly soon… I hope.**

**Anyway please enjoy!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Danni makes an early stop at the morgue before Jack drops a bombshell on her.**

Overall Romance

**Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Others though they are currently a secret which no one knows bar me!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated are either made up or I've got from the internet so I'm sorry in advance if I get an address wrong or anything. My geography on Hawaii is very poor having never been there before!**

Other, other note

**There's a sister piece to the Danni saga called snippets. Snippets are short drabbles or story which are based on the Danni saga, some from the past, other from the futures, others are missing scenes from the stories already written which are too small to be consider an one shot and which I couldn't quite fit into the main story while I was writing it. I'm trying to update it once a week so if you like the Danni saga then you should check it out!**

**There's also two side stories which fit into this universe as well. One is called 'Holding hands' and the other is 'you're in charge' both which are currently in progress so please check them out.**

**Also while I remember it there's another one shot which is completed called 'Roller-coaster' which give an example on how Steve and Danni might have got together**

**See I have been a busy girl**

* * *

Chapter Nine

I don't believe it

* * *

**1st October 2010**

**Medical Examiners Office**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Danni Williams's point of view

* * *

Danni slammed the door of her car shut and locked it behind her out of habit, her gaze fixed on the building which housed the medical examiner office. It was still early, not even eight o clock yet but Rosie Lange had assured her that not only would they be open but that she would still be there. For a moment Danni felt a surge of pity for the other woman. God knows she had, had enough all-nighters in her past when it had come to cases. Nights which had left her feeling like a zombie and in desperate need of caffeine or sleep. Considering the fact the other woman had stated she was on a double shift, Danni was pretty certain that caffeine would be a god send right about now.

She leaned down, picking her bag up from the floor next to her car and shouldered it, running her hand down her hair to make sure that it was still neat after Grace's enthusiastic hug when Danni had dropped her off at the school gates for her breakfast club, before she checked that her dress was straight. Satisfied that she looked like a professional, she twisted slightly, picking the two large cups of latte from the roof of her car, which she had picked up from Amy's coffee shop, up and headed through the revolving doors, glancing around her out of habit.

It was a surprisingly elegant building considering it housed the CSU unit, the ME's office and the morgue. Danni found herself there at least once a day when she had been back at HPD and was more than used to the layout of the place. She nodded at the guard who buzzed her through and made her way through the door at the end of the room which would lead her to the morgue area of the building.

It had been strange not having Steve in the car with her, she had grown used to picking him up directly after dropping Grace off at school. A part of her felt bad by telling him to make his own way into work but she knew it was the best option at that time. She couldn't afford to be late to pick her daughter up from school and there was no guarantee that it wouldn't happen again. She knew that Steve wouldn't set out to do it but she also knew that he wouldn't let anything stand in his way when it came to solving a case.

Shaking her head she pushed open the door and entered the room, a smile coming to her face when she saw the activity going on. The morgue was always surprisingly busy considering the fact that Hawaii was a relatively small set of islands when it came down to it. She dropped her bag onto the chair by the door and headed into the room. Her eyes looking round as she tried to spot Doctor Lange.

"Hey Danni, can I help you?" Danni turned, a smile coming to her face when she spotted Doctor Richard White standing over a body, a questioning look on his face. She smiled at him taking a step towards him making sure that she didn't get too close to the body on the slab, clearly whoever it was, hadn't died peacefully in their sleep if the angle of the limbs were any indication for her to go off of.

"Hey Rich" She replied. "Do you know where Doctor Lange is? I've an appointment with her." He raised a dark eyebrow, dark eyes focusing on the coffee cups she held.

"I'm taking a guess that one of them are for her?" He asked, sighing and shaking his head when she nodded at her. "And there I was thinking you had taken pity on me and brought me a caffeine hit." Danni laughed shaking her head at him.

"Maybe next time if you're lucky." She responded, glancing around her again before Richard spoke obviously taking pity on her.

"She's out back completing some paperwork in the main office." He told her with a half smile. "You can catch her there and next time Danni girl be nice and bring coffee for all of us." He said, winking at her before he set his attention back to his work, his face growing serious as he instructed the intern with him to step closer so he could see exactly what Richard was doing.

Danni rolled her eyes at the wink before she moved towards the back of the room where the offices were. Normally they were occupied by either Abbie Fitzgerald who was the chief medical examiner or her second in command Doctor Max Bergman who Danni had yet to meet. Abbie however she had met plenty of times.

She peered through the door, smiling when she caught a flash of red hair before knocking and entering the room when Rosie waved her in.

"Morning" Danni said with a warm smile, lifting the coffee cup. "I got you a latte, I wasn't sure what you drank but I figured if you've been here all night then you will probably need the pick me up." She stated, watching with a grin as Rosie came to her feet and shot Danni a pathetically grateful look as she took the offered coffee from her, lifting it to her mouth and downing half of it at once. "I'm glad I got you a large" Danni remarked when Rosie lowered the cup, a tone of amusement to her voice.

"Right now you are literally my favourite person on this island Danni." Rosie declared, clapping her hand down on Danni's shoulder and headed back to the desk, placing the cup on the surface and picking up a file from it. "Follow me." She said to Danni, slipping past her and heading back out into the main area. "I autopsied all three of the Hall family yesterday." She explained, leading Danni to the rows of metal drawers where the bodies were stored. "Obviously there was substantial damage done to the outer bodies from the fire as I'm sure you'll remember but I was able to work some aspects which had been puzzling me out." She told Danni, opening one of the doors and pulling the trolley out revealing the dead body of Sasha Hall. Danni breathed out, her eyes flickering away from the burned corpse to focus on Rosie instead, suddenly glad that she had skipped breakfast with the idea of getting some after the visit to the morgue.

"What did you find out?" Danni asked, reaching out taking the folder Rosie offered her, opening it and glancing over to it, a slight frown coming to her face before she looked up. "They were poisoned hours before they were killed?" She asked watching as Rosie nodded at her.

"It's a rare poison which has to be ingested to get the full effects of it. The subject sends a few hours feeling light headed and sick like they are coming down with the flu, then they have muscles spasm in their limbs before they suffer from complete paralysis. The time between spasms and paralysis is literally minutes, they wouldn't even have time to make it to the phone and call for help." Rosie stated, looking down at the body with a sad look on her face.

"Which would explain how he was able to get them into the living room without them alerting someone. All he had to do was carry them which indicates that he must be physically strong because ross Hall looked like he was fit and athletic from the photos we've seen" Danni said, feeling sick to her stomach when Rosie nodded slowly.

"They were incapable of moving so much as a toe let along being able to open their mouth to scream for help." The redhead stated, her face going blank of emotions as she continued to speak. "The rest of it is done as I suspected. Mother and Daughter was killed with a bullet to the back of the head. They were killed before the father who was shot in the back, severing his spine and left to burn alive."

Danni nodded, swallowing as she reached up and rubbed at her forehead frowning.

"Why shoot him in the spine if he was already paralysed?" Danni asked. "That's overkill."

"That's what I thought so I went back to the previous victims and although all of them had the same poison in their systems at the time of their deaths, none of the other men had been shot in the spine. It was only Mr Hall who had been." She remarked, covering Sasha Hall back up with the white sheet and pushing her back into the drawer, closing it and locking it. Danni looked up at the taller woman.

"So there was something different about Ross Hall than the other male victim, perhaps he unlike the rest of them was getting some movement back in his body, maybe something about him countered the poison which the arsonist didn't count on or come across before." She remarked thoughtfully. Rosie nodded.

"I thought the same thing so I looked into it for you. Ross Hall was a type one diabetic which meant that he was taking insulin on a daily basis, something the arsonist was probably unaware of, I think something about that countered the poison in his system."

"Do you know what poison it is?" Danni asked, frowning slightly when Rose shook her head.

"There's a few possibilities it could be. I've sent it to CSU to work their magic on it and see what they make of it. Whatever it is, it's powerful."

"Thanks for that." Danni said. "That's actually helped a lot" She said glancing at the red head with a smile. "Is it time for you to go home now because you look like you could use a sleep" She said. Rosie stared at her for a moment before she laughed, shaking her head.

"You have no idea Danni. I've just finishing up the Hall reports, as soon as they are done, I'll pass them to Abbie who is on duty today and ask her to email them to you once she's counter signed them. Hopefully by that time CSU will have come back with the type of poison used. This is strong stuff and it won't be easy to purchase the exact ingredients needed to make it. You might catch a break you never know." She said, the pair of them turning and heading back into the office where Danni picked up her coffee, taking a sip of it.

"We can only hope so" She remarked with a sigh. "Enjoy your latte and thanks Rosie." She stated, turning and heading out of the room, waving at Richard, her nose wrinkling up when he waved back, his gloved hand covered in blood.

She exited the building, unlocking her car and got in, her eye dropping automatically to the dashboard which told her it was now eight fifteen. She fished her phone out of her bag, looking at it noticing a miss call from Jack, frowning she connected the hands free kit, putting the ear piece in and hit the recall button, reversing the car out of the spot.

"Danni?" Jack answered the phone causing her to raise her eyebrow.

"Hey Jack, you rang? What's up? Have you found something?" She queried.

"No" Jack responded. "Are you with Steve?" He demanded.

"No he's not, I'm by myself at the moment. I had to stop by the medical examiners on my way into work to see her because she's found something, I'm on my way into you now. I should be there in ten minutes so I'll fill you in then. You sound worried Jack has something happened?" She queried.

"You could say that. The Chen made bail last night" Jack told her.

"What?" Danni demanded. "We arrested them yesterday afternoon, how the hell could they have made bail already? They shouldn't have even been seen yet." She asked. She heard Jack breathe out before he spoke.

"From what I can gather HPD are involved in some fashion" He answered. "I came in early this morning to set everything up and to see what more we could get on them information wise to see whether we could use it to make them break, lawyer or no lawyer and I saw a note added last night that they had posted bail. Their case had been the last case of the day and the judge granted it, apparently the money has been paid for both of them."

"HPD" Danni repeated in disbelief. "What has HPD got to do with this case? Detective Lee signed it over to us which means no decision like that should be made without one of our say so and I know Steve didn't know anything about it because when I spoke to him last night he told me that we would be interviewing them later this morning."

"I've tried to get information from HPD this morning but none of them will talk to me because they don't recognise my authority because no one has told them I am part of the governor's personal taskforce. Clearly they view me as just a NSA agent who has no business looking into the case." He said clearly quoting which suddenly explained his pissed off tone.

"Okay" Danni said, thinking carefully before she spoke. "Speak to the others and tell them what happened, if they aren't already on their way in then tell them to get their asses into the office now. I'll speak to Steve and then when I get in I'll call HPD personally and see what the hell has happened. See if you can contact Detective Lee as well and ask him to come in, maybe he can shed some light on this." She remarked, her hands gripping the steering wheel. "Do we know where they've been bailed to, is it the same address you and Steve picked them up from yesterday?" She asked.

"No idea" Jack replied, clearly moving round the office, a clicking sound indicating he had switched the main computer table on. "I've already spoken to the court the minute they opened at eight and they are going to search their records and fax us over a copy of the bail paperwork. Apparently the judge is due in court this morning so we can try and catch him before he goes in, find out some more details on what happens."

"Good thing you came in early." Danni pointed out. "I'll call Steve now, call the others as well. We need to get on top of this now." She said.

"Got you, see you in a moment Danni" Jack replied.

"See you Jack" She responded, cancelling the call her end and pressing down on the number two button before she took her hand away and focused on driving through the heavy morning traffic, for a moment she considered turning her sirens on but there was little point when she was already so close to their headquarters.

The phone was picked up after three rings.

"Hey Danno, you okay?" Steve asked, she could hear the sound of traffic from his side indicating that he was already in his truck driving toward work.

"Where are you?" She asked him, foregoing their usual pleasantries, something he clearly noticed if his surprise tone was any indication to go by.

"I've just left my house, I'm about fifteen, twenty minutes away. Why? Where are you? Have you been to the ME office yet?"

"Steve, the Chens made bail last night" She stated, hitting the indicator and pulling the car into Ali'iolani Hale car park, moving round until she spotted her empty space.

"What?" Steve demanded. "How the hell did they make bail when we arrested them at midday" He stated.

"I don't know" She told him. "Jack came into the office early to research them for the interviews and he saw the note put on the system that stated they had made bail. He's ringing the others now and telling them to come in. He's been on the phone to the courts already and they have agreed to fax over the bail agreement to us so we can see where the bail address is. They might not have gone back to their home, we can also find out who the hell paid bail for them because it wouldn't have been placed as low."

"We can hold them for up to 72 hours" Steve said.

"I know" Danni said "But something clearly has gone wrong, either the paperwork was screwed up which I severely doubt or…"

"Or?" Steve prompted.

"Or this goes way beyond a simple arsonist, somehow their bail got pushed to the top of the pile. I know the way this system work, they should have been at the bottom which means that they shouldn't have been heard until at least this afternoon or tomorrow. There is no way they should have been heard last night which means that someone is helping them. Someone in a position of power who has the influence for something like this to happen." She told him, killing the car engine and grabbing her bag. She climbed out the car and closed the door behind her. "Steve I'm at headquarters now. I'm going to call Meka once I've spoken more to Jack and see if he can look into this for me, apparently they won't talk to Jack because he's not HPD" She said.

"Okay I'll be there in ten" Steve told her, hanging up the phone.

Danni hung up the phone hurrying up the steps and into the building, swiping her card as she headed straight for the steps running up them and down the corridor which led to their headquarters. She pulled open the door, relief trickling into her when she saw that Chin had joined Jack at the main table.

"I'm here" She said, hurrying to her office and dumping her bag under her desk, her mobile in hand as she joined them. Shooting Chin a quick questioning look which he spotted.

"I arrived just as Jack hung up with you." Chin explained to her. "He's filled me in on everything which has happened, the court rang back and said they found it and would email it to us rather than fax it because their fax machine is broken or something" He told her watching as she nodded at his explanation. "Coffee is in your office" He added, smiling when she patted his absently on his shoulder with a thanks before she focused her attention on Jack as the older man began to talk.

"The others are on their way. Toast was just leaving when I rang and Kono was still in her house but she says it won't take her longer than twenty minutes to get here from where she lives. I haven't got through to Detective Lee yet, his phone keeps ringing out but I'll keep trying" Jack informed her, his gaze fixed on the screen in front of him as he worked away on the keyboard.

"I spoke to Steve, he'll be here in about five" She told them. "I should warn you that he's no longer in a good mood if he was in one this morning." She said, her mouth curving up slightly into a rueful smile.

"He can join the club if that's the case." Jack answered. "The email has arrived from the court." He stated bringing it up for them to see it, highlighting the release address. "That is definitely not the address we picked Rita Chen up from yesterday." Jack commented with a frown, standing up straight and crossing his arms.

"It's nowhere near it" Chin agreed glancing at Jack as the younger man pulled his lip.

"It doesn't belong to them." Danni added. "I went through both of their histories yesterday, the only property they have is the one we knew about where you went to yesterday. I even checked their family to make sure that there was nothing that they owned which could be used and there wasn't. Every house they own has someone living there."

"Can we check to see if this address is one of the houses which belongs to a family member?" Chin queried.

"Give me a minute, the files is in my office." Danni responded, moving across the room and into her office, stopping by her desk. She searched through the files in her in-tray for a moment, opening them and quickly discarding them before she found the one she wanted. She moved out of the office, looking up surprised to see that Steve had arrived, a Steve who looked ready to rip some heads off. "Hey" She said attracting his attention, slipping into the spot between him and Chin. She opened the file, looking through her own neat hand writing, her eyes flickering to the screen before she shook her head. "None of them even live near the place." She announced.

"Where's Toast?" Steve asked with a scowl, looking around him as though he expected the six foot four man to suddenly appear out of thin air.

"On his way in Steve." Chin answered. "Jack has already rang him and Kono. None of us were expecting this so neither of them are late. We don't start until nine" He said with a quick look at Steve.

"It's easy enough to find out who this house belongs to. Give me a minute and I'll have every piece of information we need on whoever it is." Jack said, cracking his knuckles, before he brought his fingers to the keyboard, shooting Danni a look of surprise when she stopped him by reaching out and grabbing his arm stilling his movement.

"Wait" She said, "Before you do that can you zoom in on the bail paperwork?" She demanded, ignoring the looks they gave her.

"Yeah, I can do that" Jack responded, typing something into the computer, he selected the document and zoomed in. "Which part do you want?" He asked.

"The Signature at the bottom please" She told him with a frown. Her eyes widening when she saw it.

"I don't believe it" Chin muttered next to her.

"What?" Steve asked, looking at them.

"The signature" Danni said, looking at him. "It belongs to Abraham Lee. According to this document. Detective Lee posted bail for them." She stated looking back at the form before she reached up and gripped the back of her neck.

Just what had they been led into?

* * *

Author note

**Thanks for taking the time to read I really appreciate it.**

**An especially big thank you if you've taken the time to leave me a review or follow or favourite the story. It means more to me then you can know and makes all the hard work I put into this verse worth every second!**


	12. Interlude Two

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Max Bergman and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee, Martin Chen and Rita Chen, Doctor Rosie Lange, Doctor Richard White and Doctor Abigail Fitzgerald do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**I'm so sorry for the delay in getting this chapter completed and out to you, I've been meaning to write it for a while but I was writing it a different way and it took a while for me to realise that actually this was the way forward.**

**As you can guess, this is an interlude, so we're back with the arsonist for a while. I really enjoy getting into his head and giving you guy's a chance to see into it as well.**

**The next chapter has already been started so you should hopefully be able to read that one fairly soon, I certainly don't plan for it to take as long as this one did to get to you.**

**I just want to take the time to thank you all for giving this story a chance. I know it can seem as though there are countless of OC in the story but it's because I'm trying to make it realistic. There is going to be more than one ME working at a time and it is also realistic that Danni as a homicide cop for six months on the island is going to have met them and possibly made friends with them, the same for the CSU department. She and the others will have interactions with them. Just know that there is no character who is there for just the sake of it. If you meet a character and the point of them doesn't seem obvious then just remember that this is a massive project I'm undertaking now, just because it's not obvious now it doesn't mean it won't be in later stories.**

**Anyway please enjoy this chapter and sorry again for the delay in getting it to you!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

"**Can I get you anything to eat or drink Sir?"**

Overall Romance

**Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Others though they are currently a secret which no one knows bar me!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated are either made up or I've got from the internet so I'm sorry in advance if I get an address wrong or anything. My geography on Hawaii is very poor having never been there before!**

Other, other note

**There's a sister piece to the Danni saga called snippets. Snippets are short drabbles or story which are based on the Danni saga, some from the past, other from the futures, others are missing scenes from the stories already written which are too small to be consider an one shot and which I couldn't quite fit into the main story while I was writing it. I'm trying to update it once a week so if you like the Danni saga then you should check it out!**

**There are plenty of other McDanni stories on my profile now which easily fit into this universe or which are stories which show a different way to how Steve and Danni end up together so if you haven't done so then please check them out, hopefully you won't be disappointed by them!**

**So you see I have been a busy girl lol**

* * *

Interlude Two

Unfinished business

* * *

**1****st**** October 2010**

**Heartsland Café**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

"Can I get you anything to eat or drink Sir?"

He looked up from the newspaper he had been staring at, to see his next victim looking at him, a bright smile on her face which failed to reflect in the green eyes looking at him. Eyes which looked tired and dull looking in the bright overhead sunlight.

He was responsible for that of course.

She had, had a security system at her home, a good one but it hadn't been good enough to keep him out. It had taken him one or two attempts but he had managed to hack in and take over the system. Setting it off every two days without fail, always varying the time he did it. There was a reason for it, he needed her family to become accustomed to it so that their reaction time when it went off that final time was dulled to the point that they ignored it. They wouldn't realise that there was someone in the house with them until it was too late because they were too used to the false alarms. He was good enough to cover his tracks with the security company as well, they like the family were brushing it off as nothing, just something to be endured until whatever kink that was in it was sorted out by their team.

There were still some things he needed to take care of before he could plan his attack further, the dog they had for example had to go. He had made the mistake once before of not dealing with a dog that his victim had had and it had nearly cost him everything. He would never make the same mistake again.

"Sir?" She repeated, her dark blond eyebrows meeting together in a concerned looking frown. "Are you okay?"

He forced a smile on his face and nodded at her.

"Sorry, I was miles away for a moment. I'd love another coffee please with just a dash of cream in it and one sugar if that's all right?" He queried. She nodded, not bothering to write the order down.

"No problem Sir, I'll be back in a moment with your drink, are you sure we can't tempt you with any food today?" She asked, nodding towards the menu which lay abandoned on the surface of his table.

"Normally I would but I'm due to meet two friends very shortly so I doubt I'll have the time right now." He stated, placing the right amount of disappointment in his voice. "My other friend recommended this place to me so I've no doubt you'll see a lot of me… Sally." He smiled at her, making a show of glancing down at her name badge. It was easy to act exactly how he was expected to act. He wondered briefly how she would react if she found out just how much he knew about her and her family already.

"Good to know, I'll just get that coffee for you Sir" She remarked, flashing him the same empty smile again before she turned and moved through the crowded tables, disappearing back into the café.

He watched her until she was gone before he turned his attention back to the crowd walking by, the majority of who appeared to be tourist enjoying their time away from their real lives in this tropical paradise. Personally he couldn't wait to leave but that wouldn't happen for a while yet, until that day he would simply carry on as he was doing.

He smiled to himself, wondering if the Governor's task force had found his little treat yet or whether they still had that to look forward to. It had been a stroke of genius on his part, he had to admit. He could imagine their faces and reactions when they discovered it as clearly as if he had been there watching them. He had to hand it to them, they certainly seemed competent, better than he had anticipated if he was being honest with himself. It was a nice feeling, knowing he had the best hunting him and that they still didn't know anything about him. Even Detective Lee with his annoying tendency of never letting go hadn't even been able to figure out what gender he was.

He would have to be smarter now, keep his desires under wrap the best he could, anyone could be watching him and the slightest thing could trigger something off in their memory and they could go to the task force. It would make sense after all for them to do a press conference asking for information and warning people about him. It wouldn't do any good of course, people would see it but they would never actually believe that they were the ones being targeted. They never did until it was too late, seeing that look in their eyes; the fear and the resignation was something he treasured.

"Here you go Sir, your coffee, black with a dash of cream and one sugar just like you asked for."

He blinked as Sally appeared at his side, placing the coffee down in front of him along with the bill. He glanced at the scrap of paper and pulled out a five dollar note from his black wallet, passing it to her with a large, friendly smile.

"Fast service here I see, I'm impressed" He stated, watching with a growing sense of satisfaction when she smiled again at him, this time a slight hint of warmth coming to her eyes as though she wasn't used to having compliments given to her. Knowing what he did about her, he figured that it probably was one of the first compliments she had received for a while.

"We aim to please" She remarked with a shrug, placing his change on the table. "Enjoy your day Sir"

"I'm sure I will" He replied, nodding at her before he looked down at his coffee, picking the mug up and blowing on the hot liquid before he took a sip of it.

He sat there for a few minutes, sipping at his drink, his mind going over his plans for Sally and her family and focusing on how he could continue to play with the task force to keep them off his trail.

There was always a way after all. He just needed to find out more about the individual members so he could make sure whatever he did caused the most damage to them all.

He placed his empty mug on the table and climbed to his feet, his eyes flickering around him once again, taking everything in before he looked at his watch again and nodded to himself, moving away from the café and towards his car which he had parked nearby.

He had some unfinished business to take care of.

* * *

Author Note

**Thank you very much for taking the time to read, I really appreciate it.**

**An especially large thank you if you've taken the time to leave me a review or favourite or follow the story, I appreciate it more than you can know!**


	13. We've got a problem

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Max Bergman and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee, Martin Chen and Rita Chen, Doctor Rosie Lange, Doctor Richard White and Doctor Abigail Fitzgerald do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here's the next chapter for you all!**

**So first of all I know I suck and that this chapter has taken way too long to get out to you, so I'm seriously sorry for the delay. I have been writing plenty of McDanni stories as some of you will know so hopefully that will make things up to you all in some fashion.**

**I have definitely not abandoned this story or this version of the Danni saga because this is without doubt the favourite one I do and the one which started it all so it will always hold a special place in my heart. With the way the show is going as well, it's even more important to me to create a world where I can change all the wrongs being done to the characters and hopefully produce better plot lines for them. **

**I'll always try and remain faithful to the original show but this is an A/U and there will be a lot of changes, changed which I hope you'll feel are for the better. This was a great show after all!**

**It might take me a long time (since we're only in the second week of them being a team…) but I will do this.**

**I'm really enjoying writing this verse and I'm really hoping that you're enjoying reading it and all the side stories which are to go with it all. It's made all the effort I've put into planning it worthwhile especially every time I get a review. I wish I could explain just how much it blows my mind that you guys are willing to stay with me and share in the journey of this saga where there's not just the massive change of male Danny being female Danni and everything that entails but where there are OC galore. Your reaction to Jack and Rosie for example just blows my mind so thank you!**

**I know exactly where I'm going with this story so as long as my muse plays ball and stops getting distracted every two seconds then the next chapter should be up fairly soon… I hope.**

**Anyway please enjoy!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before its too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**For a moment Steve stood frozen at the computer table, his gaze fixed on the signature at the bottom of the enlarged bail papers displayed on the large plasma screen**

Overall Romance

**Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Others though they are currently a secret which no one knows bar me!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

**I should state however that the absolutely overall goal is for McDanni to happen… what happens before that point though is something else entirely.**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated are either made up or I've got from the internet so I'm sorry in advance if I get an address wrong or anything. My geography on Hawaii is very poor having never been there before!**

Other, other note

**There are plenty of other McDanni stories exploring different saga and different ways of how things happened. If you're interested in any of them then check them out. You can also look at my updated Bio page to see the order of things.**

**See I have been a busy girl**

* * *

Chapter Ten

We've got a problem

* * *

**1****st**** October 2010**

**The Governor's Task force headquarters**

**3****rd**** Floor Ali'iolani Hale**

**417 King Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Steve McGarrett's point of view

* * *

For a moment Steve stood frozen at the computer table, his gaze fixed on the signature at the bottom of the enlarged bail papers displayed on the large plasma screen. A very clear signature which made it impossible not to identify who it belonged to. According to the paperwork it was Detective Lee who had posted bail on the Chen's and got them out of lock up.

The question was why he had done it and if it hadn't of been him then who the hell was going round impersonating cops well enough that no one at the courts batted an eyelid at it?

He toyed with the idea that Detective Lee was in on it as an accomplice or that perhaps he was the actual arsonist himself but he quickly dismissed the thought from his mind as unlikely. He hadn't gotten that impression from the other man when he had met him the previous day and perhaps more importantly to him, Danni hadn't picked up on anything either and he trusted her ability. Not only that but she had spent time alone with him the previous day, if there had been something even slightly wrong then she would have spotted it.

Then there was the fact that it had been Detective Lee who had flagged the case up to their team and had contacted Danni directly on her cell to push the case to the top of the pile. If he was involved then the sensible thing would have been for him to carry on exactly as he had been doing, keeping quiet and hope that his reputation as a competent Detective would be enough to stop anyone else looking into his cases. It was more likely, based on all that, that the arsonist knew about Detective Lee and the progress he was making in linking the cases together and was trying to derail his progress by implicating him as a suspect. Something which indicated to Steve that whoever they were dealing with had some idea about how law enforcement worked.

Shaking his head, he turned to his partner and spoke.

"Any thoughts?" He questioned, watching as Danni reached up and pulled at her lower lip, a frown coming to her face as her eyes skirted on the papers.

"This doesn't make sense" She murmured quietly as though she was talking to herself for a second.

"Danni, you got a thought you want to share with the rest of the class?" Steve pressed, resisting the urge to touch her to get her attention. She nodded slowly turning her attention to Chin for a second.

"Chin, you notice anything missing from this?" She queried before she looked at Steve. "When you're a cop and you're doing something like this then there's certain details you have to provide on the form. You normally need more than a signature to release someone from custody." She explained.

"The badge number" Chin announced, leaning back and resting the palm of his hands on the computer table, tilting his head from the side to look at Danni. "It's missing"

"It's missing" Danni confirmed with a nod turning back to the others. "As well as a signature, you have to provide information so they can contact you. So your department is a must, your precinct and your badge number. Whoever signed this did the department and precinct fine but they missed the badge number. Finding out the first two is easy. All you have to do is call up and ask to speak to so and so and then you can ask what department they are in. Obviously you know the precinct because you just rang them but the badge number is a hell of a lot more difficult to get."

"You have to be lucky to get it" Chin stated. "Because it's not something we normally shout about to anyone so you would have to be at the right place at the right time to overhear it."

"Like when an officer is calling for back up or putting something into evidence. The thing is the badge number is the first thing you learn as a cop because you say it so often that it becomes engrained in your head like a pin number. Detective Lee would have known his own number and he wouldn't have forgotten to put it on the paperwork either."

"So are you saying the court is involved somehow?" Steve questioned.

"Doubtful, if it was just before closing then they might not have checked it properly, they might have seen a badge in person, glanced at the name and let it go." Chin remarked.

"Say for a second that this was Detective Lee and that he was involved with this arsonist somehow. Why would he bring us the case in the first place? As far as I can see no one in the precinct was questioning him about him methods with it or looking into any of his closed or outstanding cases and there would be no reason for them to either. I spent at least an hour reading through the files he had made up yesterday and there was absolutely nothing which stood out as a warning sign to me." Danni remarked, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Maybe it's all about the thrill of it for him rather than actual logic?" Jack suggested with a thoughtful frown as he crossed his arms, tapping his fingertips against his forearm as he looked around him. "Perhaps the fact that there was no one who was picking up on what he was doing and the connection between the cases, pissed him off enough that he decided to take a bigger risk then he normally would have. The bigger the risk, the bigger the excitement level after all. HPD know what we are right? I'm guessing the captains of each unit have informed their staff about us so what bigger thrill would there be then getting one past the elite task force on the island? Maybe it's a new way of getting a thrill being right here in the eye of the storm able to see exactly what we're doing." He stated with a shrug looking at them all.

Steve nodded slowly, his eyes flickering over to Chin who was staring at Jack with a thoughtful look as though he was considering the other man's opinion carefully. Chin glanced towards him, seeing his questioning look and shrugged.

"It's a valid theory" The native remarked, "And it wouldn't be the first time that something like that has happened but I'm veering more towards Danni's theory. It doesn't make any sense especially with the forgotten badge number. If Lee was that good then he wouldn't have made a mistake like that. The man is a good cop, even I heard about his reputation and I was off the force for fifteen years."

"That's true, everyone I know who has worked or met with him has said how good he is at his job. He's concise, he's focused and he tends to be able to spot things that other people don't. Lee is the sort of detective you want working a case if you're a Captain or another Detective because you can leave them alone and trust them to get on with whatever it is they are meant to be doing." Danni remarked, looking towards Chin who nodded again.

"We've already established the fact that the arsonist seems to stalk his victims for a while before he kills them, the only thing we don't know is how long this period of watching them lasts. If he stalks his victims then why not stalk the lead Detective in charge of your cases and bringing you down? It wouldn't exactly be difficult to figure out who it was especially if he's been returning to every single crime scene once the first responders have arrived. It wouldn't be difficult to spot Lee within the crowd." Chin stated.

"I'm inclined to agree with you and Danni" Steve said slowly. "But I'm not willing to overlook the theory O'Connor place forward either. Sometimes cops make the best villains because they know exactly how to act and how to work the system to cover themselves. I need to speak to Detective Lee face to face." He remarked, his gaze flickering to Jack. "O'Connor, I want you to see what you can find on Lee, is he a native to the island? Is he married or in a relationship? Does he have any kids? He might not be willingly participating in this. He wouldn't be the first cop who has been forced into doing something they didn't want to do due to a loved one being in danger. If he does have any family than find out their locations as well, we need to make sure they are all accounted for"

"That won't be difficult to find out. Give me ten minutes and I should be able to tell you what you need to know." Jack responded, turning his attention away from Steve and focusing on the laptop which he was working from.

"Chin I want…" Steve began to say, his words coming to an abrupt end when he was interrupted.

"Hey, sorry I'm sort of late though I guess I'm not really late because we're meant to be here at nine aren't we and it's not nine yet so I guess I'm actually early which is good. Anyway Jack said over the phone there was some sort of emergency and we were to report in ASAP so here I am reporting in. What do you need me to do boss man?"

Steve blinked, his gaze coming up to Danni who was trying to hide a smile as she met his eyes. He sighed, turning to look over his shoulder as Toast moved towards them, holding two coffees in his hand and grinning at them. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a worn t-shirt with a faded picture on the front of it, his dark hair stuck up on end as though he hadn't bothered to brush when he had rolled out of bed that morning.

"Forget about it Toast, I need you to get logged on and use Detective Lee's cell phone to find his location right now." Steve told the younger man, raising his eyebrow at him when Toast stopped in his tracks and shot him a confused look.

"Detective Lee" He repeated. "I don't need to log on to tell you that boss, Detective Lee was entering the building as I was coming up. He's holding a bunch of files in his arms which I'm assuming he's planning on giving to blondie to look over." He remarked, jerking his thumb over his shoulder towards the door he had just come through as though to indicate what he meant.

"He's already here" Steve repeated, glancing towards Danni who shot him a thoughtful look though he could detect the glimmer of surprise beneath it which told him that she hadn't expected Lee or the files which were apparently for her.

"Well yeah that's what I said, unless of course Detective Lee has an identical twin brother who would have a reason for coming here today that is." Toast answered, heading past them to where Jack was already working. Steve rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose for a second before he focused his attention on Chin who was watching him with an amused expression on his face.

"Chin, I want you and Toast to get those surveillance videos from the store if they didn't email them over. I want to see if we can find out who bought those burner phones used to contact Mrs Chen."

"We're on it" Chin said with a node before turning his attention to Toast who was talking to Jack in a hushed voice. Whatever he was saying had Jack's full attention if the way he had tilted his head towards Toast was any indication to go by. "Toast log on and check the email account to see whether Mr Yukimaro has sent us the surveillance videos for his store yesterday. Kono got us the warrant yesterday."

"Sure, I'll do that now Chin" Toast said with a nod towards the older man before he shot Jack a quick sideways glance with the blond ignored.

Steve watched the interaction carefully, glancing to his side when he felt a hand touch his forearm, his gaze falling on Danni.

"How do you want to handle this then? Should I take the lead or do you want to?" She queried, letting go of her arms and crossing her arms instead. For a moment he considered letting Danni take the lead on the interview but he quickly pushed the thought away. Regardless of the fact that he wasn't a cop, he was still the one who was in charge of the task force and he had to make that clear to everyone now that all decision concerning them were ultimately made by him.

"I'll take the lead with this Danno" He answered, watching her carefully. He caught the flash of irritation which came to her grey eyes and hid a smile, knowing that it wasn't the fact he was taking the lead which had put the look there but more the fact that he had called her Danno again, a nickname which she clearly didn't understand and one he wasn't willing to explain to her either yet, not when it was so amusing to him to see her normal unflappable calm ruffled.

"Okay that's fine but I would suggest you do the interview in your office rather than bringing Detective Lee down to the interrogation room to speak to him. There's still a good chance that Abe has nothing to do with any of this and the last thing we want is to cause any more bad feelings between us and HPD, not when we're still so new. HPD already resents us so let's not give them any more reasons to make that feeling any worse. If he manage to handle this situation with Lee well then it might actually give us a few brownie points with them. Not to mention the fact that having a Detective like Lee on our side will benefit and give us another detective in HPD other than Meka who we could turn to if we needed. We need to have connections like that Steve, we're lucky that we already have CSU and the ME office on side, now we just need to do the same with HPD, You understand that right?" She asked him, not looking away from him.

"I understand Danni but all of this is based on the fact that he isn't involved in this Danni, there's still a chance that he might be." He pointed out, watching as she instantly frowned.

"There's always the possibility but I doubt it. I spent time with the man yesterday Steve and he genuinely seemed intent on solving this case and putting it behind him. If he was involved in then then he would be making suggestions designed to throw us off the scent, not making suggestions which would bring us closer to the suspect."

Steve was saved from answering when the door opened and Detective Lee walked in followed by Kono who looked as though she had been surfing if her wet hair was anything to go by. Steve watched as Kono glanced towards them, opening her mouth as though she was about to speak when she closed it, clearly reading something in their faces. Whatever she saw had her switching direction and heading over to Chin and Jack. Lee however headed straight towards them, holding a stack of files in his hands, his dark gaze flickering over to Steve for a moment before he focused his attention on Danni.

"Morning guys, I brought over the stack of files like you asked Danni, these are all the arson attacks over the past twelve months that we have had. You said yesterday that you wanted to have a look at them?" He questioned, a curious tone to his voice.

"Great, thank you for that." Danni replied with a smile at him, tilting her head to the side.

"It was no problem, where would you like me to put them for you?" He asked her.

"Could you put them in Danni's office for now Detective and then meet me in my office, there's something which we need to run by you." Steve said, answering for his partner.

Lee's eyes flickered to Steve for a moment before he nodded.

"Yeah that's not a problem" He said, nodding at them before he turned and headed towards her office. Steve leaned across placing his hand on Danni's back, using it to steer her towards his office.

"Boss man" Toast called out as they walked by, looking up from the computer screen he was working on. "Looks like the store hasn't sent us the surveillance tapes" He said, frowning slightly when he caught the flash of uneasiness which came to the younger man's face, before he could say anything about it Danni spoke, a soft, almost gentle tone to her voice.

"You'll be fine out there Toast. Chin will be with you the whole time and he'll have your back so you'll have nothing to worry about. Go to the shop, view the tapes and then you'll be back here before you know it. We'll probably have a ton of things which we'll need you to do for us." She said with a wink. Steve watched as a smile came to Toast face.

"I can do that" He told her.

"Good" Steve said, pushing Danni forward again until they were in his office. "What was that about with Toast?" He questioned her.

"I'll tell you later when we have more time." Danni answered, both of them turning towards the door at the sound of a knock. Steve waved Detective Lee into the room.

"Close the door behind you and come in." He told the other man as he sat at the edge of his desk, his eyes flickering to the side to see Danni perching herself on the side of his sofa, her gaze focused on Lee's face, clearly watching his reactions intently.

"Has something happened with the case?" Detective Lee questioned as he followed Steve's instruction and moved further into the room a concerned look on his face,

"You could say that, Mr and Mrs Chen made bail last night" He stated. A look of shock coming to the Detective's face which was quickly followed by anger.

"How the hell did that happen? They shouldn't have ever been seen by a judge until this morning at the very earliest. This is complete bullshit. Do we know where they've gone or anything?" He demanded, reaching up and running a hand over his shaved dark hair. Steve glanced towards Danni who was still watching Lee though Steve noticed that some of the tension which has been in her shoulders since the morning was gone. She looked towards him and nodded.

"We think that you might be able to help us with that." Steve said, pushing himself with a standing position and moving towards the door, he opened it and looked out into the main room, his eyes landing on Jack.

"Jack" He called out, ignoring the flash of surprise on the other man's face. "Have you got a copy of the bail papers?"

"Yeah I just printed it out for you." Jack answered, moving over to the printer and picking up the papers from there, he flicked through them for a moment, placing two back before twisting and heading over to Steve, passing them to him with a nod which Steve returned. He closed the door again and moved back round his desk, holding the papers to Lee who took them, glancing down at them, his eyes already scanning them.

"What am I lo…" his voice stopped abruptly as his eyes landed on the signature. For a moment he remained still before he looked up at Steve. A look of disbelief and anger in his gaze.

"I didn't sign this" He stated quietly, the paper scrunching up in his hand.

"No?" Steve remarked, crossing his hand over his chest. "This was signed just after seven O Clock yesterday evening. Where were you at that time?"

"Yesterday at seven?" Lee repeated, reaching up and running his hand over his head again. "Yesterday evening at seven I was having dinner with my son and daughter at Rainbow Lanai."

"How long were you there for?" Steve asked.

"An hour and a half, I have to have them both back at their mothers by nine. We arrived there at about quarter to seven and left about eight fifteen. My daughter is four and she's a slow eater." He answered. Steve nodded slowly, his eyes flickering to Danni. She met his gaze and returned the nod, coming to her feet and heading out of the office without a word ignoring the look Lee shot her. Steve resisted the urge to smile, after only a week Danni knew exactly what he needed her to do with only a look. He looked back at Lee, knowing that Danni would take care of checking out Lee's story. "I didn't do this." Lee stated again, looking back at Steve with a fierce look. "I want to find the son of a bitch who did this, not help him in anyway. The Chens were our only viable link to him, there's no way I would have signed their bail or helped them in anyway."

"Sit down" Steve said, waving a hand towards the chair opposite him as he took his own. "It will only take a few moments to check your story out."

"A few moments? I know 50 had no barriers but I would have thought you would still need to go through the proper channels and get a warrant for the CTV that could take hours which is probably exactly what this guy wants. For you to waste time with me instead of looking for him."

Steve remained silent, merely watching him closely. He seemed pissed but that reaction wasn't unusual given the circumstances. Only a few minutes had passed when the door opened and Danni stepped back in, closing it behind her as she spoke.

"I had Jack look since Toast has already left and his alibi holds up. He was at the rainbow Lanai from seven twelve to eight sixteen. The Chen's bail was signed at seven twenty one so it wasn't Abe who did it." She told Steve, moving round to his side of the desk and perching herself on the end of it. "Abe, have you noticed anything suspicious recently? Maybe a feeling of being watched or a face in the crowd which you've seen more than once?" She asked him.

"You think the arsonist is stalking me?" Lee questioned, his eyes flickering between the two of them. Steve nodded at him.

"We know he stalks his victims so it makes sense that he would stalk you as well."

"People like this often want recognition." Danni added. "And so far you are the only person who has seen what he's been doing. You've brought attention to it, he could see you as some sort of kindred spirit, maybe he think you're helping him in some sort of way."

"So if he's been watching me then he'll know about my kids then?" Lee said coming to his feet. "I've got to call my ex and warn her."

"You can do that" Steve agreed with a nod. "But so far the arsonist or someone linked to him is only doing this to you. You're the one he's interested in."

"He feels a connection to you. Has he ever tried to contact you? A phone call, maybe an email, anything?" Danni asked. Lee frowned, his eyes moving rapidly from side to side before he shook his head.

"Nothing like that." He said after a moment. "I would have noticed it and looked into it."

"What about a helpful citizen, has anyone rang in with some tips for you?"

"There was one guy if I remember right who contacted me within hours of me arriving at the crime scene always with some tip about something he had seen. It was never real detailed though, not enough to arouse my suspicion until the third time it happened, I recognised the voice so I got copies of the phone calls and sent them off to CSU to be compared to make sure it was the same guy."

"I'm guessing you tried to trace the number?" Steve said.

"It was the first thing I did, came back as a burn phone, the kind you can buy anywhere."

"A burn phone" Danni repeated thoughtfully, coming to her feet. "Abe do you have the phone details?" She asked, smiling when he nodded at her.

"Danni?" Steve said, attracting her attention back to him.

"I'm thinking the same guy has been buying these burn phones. Jack can trace when the number was first activated. If we know that then we can have Chin and Toast look at the surveillance video for that day to see who bought it. I doubt this concerned citizen is that. It's more likely that it's the arsonist trying to insert him into the investigation to show everyone just how much cleverer he is then everyone else. The fact that he's doing that proves our theory that he returns to the scene of the crime otherwise how would he know when Lee was there?"

"Good idea" Steve said, turning back to Lee. "Have you still got a record of those call dates and times?" He asked the Detective who nodded at him.

"I've got them back at my desk, they are still with CSU though, there's a back log at the moment, and it's going to be at least a week until the comparison is done." He informed them. Steve smiled at him before he turned back to Danni who was watching him.

"Danno, time to use all those connections you've been cultivating for the past six months. Get in contact with whoever is responsible for voice comparisons at CSU and ask them to bump the comparison to the top of the pile, we need to get those results as soon as possible."

"I'll get on it right away" She told him, turning and heading towards the door. She had just managed about three steps when the door opened revealing Kono. She looked around them before she spoke, a note of concern to her voice.

"We've got a problem."

* * *

Author note

**Thanks for taking the time to read I really appreciate it.**

**An especially big thank you if you've taken the time to leave me a review or follow or favourite the story. It means more to me then you can know and makes all the hard work I put into this verse worth every second!**


	14. Break through

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Max Bergman and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee, Martin Chen and Rita Chen, Doctor Rosie Lange, Doctor Richard White and Doctor Abigail Fitzgerald do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here's the next chapter for you all!**

**So first of all I know I suck and that this chapter has taken way too long to get out to you, so I'm seriously sorry for the delay. I have been writing plenty of McDanni stories as some of you will know so hopefully that will make things up to you all in some fashion.**

**I have definitely not abandoned this story or this version of the Danni saga because this is without doubt the favourite one I do and the one which started it all so it will always hold a special place in my heart. With the way the show is going as well, it's even more important to me to create a world where I can change all the wrongs being done to the characters and hopefully produce better plot lines for them. **

**I'll always try and remain faithful to the original show but this is an A/U and there will be a lot of changes, changes which I hope you'll feel are for the better. This was a great show after all!**

**It might take me a long time (since we're only in the second week of them being a team…) but I will do this.**

**I'm really enjoying writing this verse and I'm really hoping that you're enjoying reading it and all the side stories which are to go with it all. It's made all the effort I've put into planning it worthwhile especially every time I get a review. I wish I could explain just how much it blows my mind that you guys are willing to stay with me and share in the journey of this saga where there's not just the massive change of male Danny being female Danni and everything that entails but where there are OC galore. Your reaction to Jack and Rosie for example just blows my mind so thank you!**

**I know exactly where I'm going with this story so as long as my muse plays ball and stops getting distracted every two seconds then the next chapter should be up fairly soon… I hope.**

**Anyway please enjoy!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before its too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Kono's hand tightened on the door frame as she saw the look that past between Steve and Danni at her words**

Overall Romance

**Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Others though they are currently a secret which no one knows bar me!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

**I should state however that the absolutely overall goal is for McDanni to happen… what happens before that point though is something else entirely.**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated are either made up or I've got from the internet so I'm sorry in advance if I get an address wrong or anything. My geography on Hawaii is very poor having never been there before!**

Other, other note

**There are plenty of other McDanni stories exploring different saga and different ways of how things happened. If you're interested in any of them then check them out. You can also look at my updated Bio page to see the order of things.**

**See I have been a busy girl**

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Break through

* * *

**1****st**** October 2010**

**The Governor's Task force headquarters**

**3****rd**** Floor Ali'iolani Hale**

**417 King Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Kono Kalakaua's point of view

* * *

Kono's hand tightened on the door frame as she saw the look that past between Steve and Danni at her words. For a moment she wished she could take them back but she was already beginning to learn that their job wasn't going to be quite as easy as that.

"Of course there is" Steve muttered to himself before Danni spoke.

"What's happened Kono?" She asked, moving towards Kono and placing her hand lightly on her back, using it to push Kono back into the main bulpen. Kono remained silent for a second before she came to a stop next to the computer table where Jack was still working frantically and spoke

"There's been another fire and according to the first reports which are coming in, the MO is the same as the previous ones, which means it is the work of our arsonist. He's struck yet again and there are bodies involved." Kono told them, letting out a shaky breathe.

Danni's eyes widened at the news as she turned to Steve sharing another look with each other before she looked back towards Jack and speaking, an undercurrent of concern and disbelief to her voice, as though she couldn't quite believe the news Kono had told her, it was the closest to worried that Kono had seen from the other woman.

"Jack where was the address of the fire?"

Jack looked up, his face grim as he answered her.

"The address where the Chen's were bailed to last night."

"Shit" Steve said, dragging his hand through his hair. "Okay Danni you're with me. Kono you're with Jack, meet at the crime scene. Danni have you…"

"I've already written the address down. I spoke to Ryan earlier and he mentioned that Kale was on duty today for any new cases which came in. I'll call him when we're in the car asking him to hold back heading in with his team until we can get there and assess the situation. How long will it take us to get there from here exactly?" Danni demanded, already moving towards her office where her bag was.

"With you driving probably about thirty minutes, with me driving more like twenty" Steve answered over his shoulder, heading towards his own office. Kono shook her head, looking towards Jack who met her eyes, saving something on his laptop and pressing a few more buttons, clearly closing the program down. She focused on his face as he spoke.

"We'll take my car this time" He suggested. "I've got equipment in there that we'll probably need when we get to the crime scene and it will take too much time to transfer them to your car." Kono nodded at him, heading into her own office and straight to the desk, unlocking her top drawer and taking the gun she kept there out, she checked it before nodding and heading back into the bulpen in time to see Steve and Danni heading towards the door, serious looks on their faces. She couldn't help but raise her eyebrow when she saw Danni sigh and pull out her car keys from her bag, glancing at them before she held them out to Steve who took them from her, a faint smile appearing on his face briefly before it disappeared into the look which they referred to as his SEAL look.

Clearly the need to get to the scene quickly overruled Danni's rule about Steve driving her car.

"We're going to head on so we'll see you both there" Danni said glancing back at them, her gaze flickering towards Kono who simply nodded back at her watching as the pair of them disappeared out of the door. She turned her head to Jack as the taller man approached her and spoke.

"You got everything you need?"

"Yeah, let's get over there" She answered, following him out of the door, her gaze fixed on his back. Jack was still a mystery to her. She knew the basics the same as every one else on the team did about him. She knew that he had lived in Washington DC until the previous week. She knew he had two young daughters called Poppy and Bella and that they had arrived yesterday with his older sister and two nephews and she knew that he was their liaison officer with the NSA but everything else about him was a mystery.

She forced her mind away from the blond and to the information which she had been told when she got in, about Lee and the bail papers and the fact that the Chen's had made bail. The case was beginning to grow messy and it seemed that their arsonist whoever they were, were good at clearing up their mess.

"My car is this way" Jack commented, his hand gripping her elbow lightly as he steered her towards a dark grey Lexus which had been parked next to Chin's motorbike.

"Is this yours or is it a rental?" She asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at it surprised by how nice a car it was. Jack shot her a quick look as he walked round to the driver's side.

"It's mine, I got it over the weekend" He told her over the roof before he unlocked it and climbed in. Kono slid into the passenger seat. A smile coming to her face when she noticed the two booster seats in the back seat as well as the tell tell sign of a toy flung to the middle as though the owner was bored of it indicated that the car was a family car. She remained silent looking towards Jack as he turned the key in the ignition and reversed out of the spot. Danni's car was already gone though with Steve driving that was no surprise. Kono hadn't yet to experiencing driving with the boss but from the way Danni described it he clearly had a love for speed which went hand in hand with Danni's car.

She studied Jack for a moment before she spoke again.

"Danni said that your kids arrived yesterday? How did that go?" She queried, surprised when he turned to her and gave her a large goofy grin.

"It was great, the plane got in early so I didn't even have to wait long for them. It was good to see them again and be able to hug them. It's just us so…" His voice trailed off as he shrugged, his eyes flickering back to the road.

"That's good brah. What about their mother is she coming later on to join you?" She questioned, surprised when the soft smile which had lingered on his face disappeared as though it had never been there in the first place.

"No" He said shortly, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. For a moment Kono thought that was all he was going to say on the matter when he spoke again. "She's dead."

"Dead?" Kono repeated, her eyes widening as she realised the pain she had probably caused him with her question. "Oh man, I'm so sorry for your loss Jack, I didn't mean to drag up bad memories. Was it recent thing?" She asked.

"Yes" He answered. "And don't be sorry because we're not" Kono's mouth fell open at the reply but she remained silent. Whatever had happened between Jack and the mother of his children clearly had not been pleasant though she now found herself curious about what exactly had happened. She glanced towards him again when he spoke. "I would prefer if you don't mention anything to the others Kono, if I want them to know then I'll tell them myself."

"Yeah of course, it's not my place to tell." She responded instantly, earning herself a smile from him.

"Good, you know where we're meant to be going because I'm not going to lie, my knowledge of Hawaii is pretty sparse. Danni's going to take me out over the weekend and show me the shortcuts which she was taught but until then I'm just like any other tourist out there" He said ruefully, the comment making Kono laugh.

"Maybe I should come with you and Danni as well. Danni is good but she's still not quite the expert I am on this. We'll keep it on the down low though because I'm pretty positive that if Steve finds out then he'll insist on coming as well and according to Danni you do not want to be in a car with Steve."

"I can vouch for that, I had to go with him yesterday to pick up the Rita Chen. Pretty sure I lost about a year from my life span just based on the way he takes corners!" Jack agreed, his mouth curling up into a smile.

"I luckily haven't had the pleasure yet. I've only driven with you and Chin so far and you both seem pretty steady drivers." Kono said before she pointed past him. "Take the next left here and than the second right." She instructed. He nodded at her and hit the indicator, letting a car pass before he turned into the road.

"The joys of being a father, unless I'm involved in a car chase than I tend to keep to the speed limits." He admitted, taking the right.

"Carry on to the bottom of the road and take the left, than go straight on." She told him. "So I'm guessing you're renting a house at the moment?" She remarked casually, glancing out the window.

"Yeah for a bit, seems this job is pretty permanent though so I'll have to start looking at places to buy so Poppy and Bella have somewhere stable."

"So you'll be with us for good?" Kono asked, smiling when Jack nodded with a sigh.

"It seems that way and I know why they did it and they did it for me but…" He stopped suddenly and shook his head, giving her a quick glance as though he was surprised that he had said so much before he looked back to the front. "Looks like we're here" He commented, pulling his car in behind Danni's and killing the engine.

Kono pushed open her own door and stepped out, wrinkling her nose at the smell which the fire had left behind. The scene was different to the one they had been at the day before. More of the house stood and seemed to have sustained less damage.

She waited until Jack was at her side before she made her way to the tape, flashing her badge at the uniformed officer and stepping beneath it. The area like yesterday was filled with CSU agents but they seemed to be holding back for a moment. She nodded towards the few who looked their way before she entered through the charred door looking around her instantly as she followed the sound of Steve's and Danni's voices into the living room where they were standing with another man wearing a CSU jumpsuit.

"Hey" She said as a way of announcing herself, her eyes flickering round the room before they landed on the two charred bodies lying next to each other. An ME she didn't recognise was kneeling next to them, ignoring everything which was happening around him as he took down some notes clearly waiting for a stretcher to be brought in. She glanced back up at Danni, surprised to see the other woman watching her with a concerned look in her eyes. "Is that…" Kono didn't bother finishing her sentence merely waving a hand towards the bodies, wincing when Danni nodded.

"Doctor Lloyd needs to make a positive identification once he's back at the ME office but it does look like these are Martin and Rita Chen" Danni confirmed, reaching up and rubbing the back of her neck, an action which Kono noticed attracted Steve's attention straight away.

"You okay Danni?" He asked her, gently nudging the blond with his arm.

"Fine" She answered briefly, dropping her hand and looking at Kono. "Are you okay?"

"Fine though I am seriously glad I missed breakfast this morning." She admitted, turning away from the Chen's and looking at the rest of the room, taking everything in.

"Jack" Steve said suddenly, attracting their attention, Kono looking over her shoulder to see the tall blond walk in, his eyes scouting everything before they focused on Steve, his eyebrow rising slightly in a silent question. "Most of the upstairs isn't damaged so there's a good chance that there is a laptop there for us to look at. I glanced down here quickly but…" His voice trailed off as he shrugged.

"I can take a look" Jack stated, turning his attention to the guy in CSU jump suit. "Kale Mead right?" He queried, holding out his hand to the other man who took it with a surprised look. "I'm Jack O'Connor with the taskforce, you good with me bagging and taking the lap top with me or do you need to log it yourself?" He asked.

"Nice to meet you Jack, call me Kale" the other man answered with a grin. "You can take the laptop with you. I think Fatima found one in the main bedroom earlier on when the firemen gave the okay for us to come in here before Jersey's call came through."

"Great, I appreciate it" Jack responded before turning back to Steve and Danni, his eyes flickering towards the two dead bodies before he looked back at Steve and Danni. "If it's alright with you I'll grab the laptop and head back to headquarters with it. I can get a lot more information out of it there then I'll be able to get from here." He remarked. Steve nodded.

"Take it, there's bound to be some link between the Chen and the arsonists, it's just a case of finding it." Steve stated. Kono turned back to Jack just in time to see him give them a toothy grin.

"Oh if it's on there then me and Toast will find it, I can promise you that much" He told them before turning back to Kale. "The bedroom you say?"

"Yeah, I'm heading up there now so I'll take you. Jersey, come and see me before you go" He remarked before the two of them left the room. Kono turned back as Steve spoke, addressing his comment to Danni.

"I'm going to check out the other rooms, see whether I can piece together exactly what happened here." He commented, dropping his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it before he took his hand back. Kono thought she detected some hesitation on his part but it was gone before she could be sure.

"Looks like it's just you and me Kono" Danni said with a smile turning to her. "I need to talk to Elliot about the bodies, do you want to join me?" She questioned. Kono's first instinct was to say no but she stopped herself. Being a cop wasn't ever going to be a pretty job and the sooner she got used to the dead bodies and smells that they would encounter during their cases the better it would be.

"I'll come with you" She answered, detecting a flare of approval in Danni's gaze though all she did was nod and turn, heading across the room to the bodies. Kono breathed out slowly, straightening her shoulders before she followed the older woman, her gaze going to the dark haired ME who glanced up, bright blue eyes flickering towards her before they focused on Danni who spoke.

"Eli, this is Kono Kalakaua, she works with me on the Governor's taskforce. Kono this is Doctor Elliot Lloyd with the ME's office." She introduced before her voice turned seriously. "So what do we have? Did the fire kill them or…?" Her voice trailed off.

"It looks like it. I can't detect any gunshot wounds like Rosie found in the other victims. It's hard to tell through the charring but I can detect some severe damage to the joints, especially around the knee areas" He commented, waving his hand towards that area of the body as he continued speaking. "I would hazard a guess that these two were tortured before they were set on fire. With this rate of burning as well it's likely they were covered in some sort of accelerant. It would have brought the whole house down except for the fact that the neighbour happened to bring their trash out and realised what was happening." He explained.

Kono watched Danni nod slowly before she came to her feet again, dropping her hand on Elliot's back before moving away, waving towards Kono to join hr.

"What do you think?" The older woman asked as she crossed her arms, eyes fixed on Kono with a curious look. For a moment Kono remained silent before she let out a breathe, realising that Danni was doing exactly what Chin had always said she would do, she was teaching Kono.

"Well The Chens were clearly killed by the arsonist, we can assume that this house maybe belonged to him and he made the arrangements to have them sent here. If they were released last night and it's still only nine thirty in the morning than he was probably waiting for them when they arrive. Maybe he put them at ease first so they wouldn't see it coming and then he attacked them. Doctor Lloyd didn't mention them being tied up but it would be difficult to torture someone with them being immobilised." Kono said slowly, looking around the room again.

"That's true" Danni said, attracting her attention again. "It's going to be hard to prove that they were tied down, what else could it be?"

"Drugs?" Kono stated. "He used drugs before in the other victims so there's a good chance that he used them again with the Chens. I doubt he had as much time with them as the other people he killed so maybe he used a higher concentration or dosage of it. We should ask whoever does the autopsy on it to run a tox screen on both of them and have it expedited as quickly as possible. The sooner we find out exactly what combination of drugs he is using the easier it will be to hunt him down."

Danni looked thoughtfully at her for a moment before she suddenly smiled warmly at her.

"That sounds like a good plan to me." She said, reaching out and patting Kono on the arm before she moved past her back to the ME. Kono couldn't help the grin that came to her face at the approval. "With me Kono" Danni said, heading towards out of the living room and down the passage way towards the front door. Kono followed, raising her arm to cover her eyes for a moment against the bright sunlight. She watched as Danni stopped and looked around her before she moved towards two uniformed officers who was standing near the yellow tape, talking quietly to each other while their eyes scanned the growing crowd. "Officer Booth, Officer Watkins, good morning" Danni said with a smile at them. "I understand that the fire was detected by a nearby neighbour. Do you know where they are at all?" She asked them politely.

Kono waited as the taller of the two looked around him curiously before he focused back on Danni who was waiting patiently, her face fixed in her usual thoughtful look which revealed nothing.

"He was here earlier but he's gone back into his house now, something about the noise bothering him. He lives in that one there" The man said, pointing to the house on the right hand side of the one they were currently at.

"Great, thank you for your help." Danni said, glancing towards Kono and nodding towards it, silently telling the other woman to follow her. Kono came to her side and spoke quietly to her.

"Do you think the arsonist made a mistake?" She queried.

Danni seemed to consider her question for a moment before she shrugged at her.

"It's hard to tell" She admitted "But with everything we know about him, I think it's safe to say that this house was meant to burn a lot more than it did. He hadn't done his homework and it could cost him."

Kono frowned slightly at the comment, wondering what Danni meant by it but there was no time to ask as Danni stopped outside the front door and knocked on it, waiting patiently, her eyes moving around her as though she was admiring the garden. Kono glanced to the door when she heard the sound of footstep approaching and forced a smile onto her face when it opened revealing an older looking man in front of them. He looked as though he was in his sixties, a shock of white hair covering his head as faded blue eyes peered at them both through thick rimmed glasses.

"Can I help you?" He asked them curiously.

"I'm sorry to bother you sir, my name is Detective Williams and this is Officer Kalakaua, we're with the Governor's taskforce. We were hoping if it wasn't too much trouble that we could come in and ask you a few questions on what you saw earlier on this morning with concerns to the fire next door?" Danni asked, her tone respectful as she smiled at the man, showing him her badge. Kono tapped her finger against the badge on her belt watching as his eyes flickered between the two of them again.

"The fire" The man repeated before he nodded at them. "Of course, please come in" He offered. Danni nodded, looking towards Kono with an encouraging smile as they stepped into the hallway and followed him into a living room which reminded Kono of her grandmother's living room. He sat down in the chair and waved a hand at the sofa opposite it.

Kono sat down next to Danni, glancing around her again before Danni started speaking.

"Could you tell us what happened Mr…?" Her voice trailed off as she sent him a questioning look.

"Baxter, Earl Baxter" He told them with a nod. "It was like I told the other officer who interviewed me earlier. I had woken up at my usual time of six thirty and taken the trash out at eight thirty, the same as always. I had just put it in the bin when I smelt smoke and I looked over and the house was on fire. I rang 911 and they sent the fireman over. It was strange though" He said, his voice trailing off leaving them in silence.

"What was strange?" Kono asked, blinking when the man looked up again.

"That house had been abandoned for months now, a family used to live there but they disappeared without a word one night though I got no idea why. Yesterday was the first time I saw anyone in there." He old them.

"Were these the people you saw?" Danni queried, holding out her cell to him, a picture of the chens mug shot on them.

"That was them" He agreed. "Or rather that was two of them, there was another man as well. I remember him because he was tall, much taller than the other man and they seemed to be arguing."

"Arguing?" Danni said, leaning forward slightly. "Did you happen to hear what they were arguing about?" Danni questioned.

"Something about fires and cops. The man whoever he was, was angry though, I could tell that much from the tone of his voice."

Kono risked a quick glance at Danni who opened her mouth to speak when her cell suddenly went off. Kono watched as Danni quickly fished it out of her bag, glancing at the caller ID before she looked up.

"I'm sorry Mr Baxter, please excuse me, I have to take this." She said, coming to her feet and leaving the room with a quick "Williams" into the handset.

"Do you remember anything else Mr Baxter? What time they arrived last night or anything like that?" Kono asked him, aware of the soft murmur of Danni's voice from the hallway as she spoke to whoever it was who had rang her.

"It was at nine twenty" He replied promptly. "I remember because my program was on and I glanced towards the clock when I heard the noise. This street is usually quiet you see so something like raised voices stands out to us." He told her. Kono nodded, glancing towards the door when it opened and Danni walked in again, sharing a quick look with Kono.

"Mr Baxter, would you mind having a look at this picture and telling me whether this was the man who saw with the other two last night?" She asked, selecting something on her phone and handing it to Mr Baxter who took it, staring down at it intently.

"It's hard to tell because it's fuzzy but it definitely looks like him. He was tall you see" He repeated handing the phone back to Danni who smiled at him.

"Thank you Mr Baxter, you've been a great help." She said softly, turning to Kono, a flare of triumph in her eyes which made Kono grin back.

They finally had their break.

* * *

Author note

**Thanks for taking the time to read I really appreciate it.**

**An especially big thank you if you've taken the time to leave me a review or follow or favourite the story. It means more to me then you can know and makes all the hard work I put into this verse worth every second!**


	15. Finally getting somewhere

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Max Bergman and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee, Martin Chen and Rita Chen, Doctor Rosie Lange, Doctor Richard White and Doctor Abigail Fitzgerald do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here's the next chapter for you all!**

**So first of all I know I suck and that this chapter has taken way too long to get out to you, so I'm seriously sorry for the delay. I have been writing plenty of McDanni stories as some of you will know so hopefully that will make things up to you all in some fashion.**

**I have definitely not abandoned this story or this version of the Danni saga because this is without doubt the favourite one I do and the one which started it all so it will always hold a special place in my heart. With the way the show is going as well, it's even more important to me to create a world where I can change all the wrongs being done to the characters and hopefully produce better plot lines for them. **

**I'll always try and remain faithful to the original show but this is an A/U and there will be a lot of changes, changes which I hope you'll feel are for the better. This was a great show after all!**

**It might take me a long time (since we're only in the second week of them being a team…) but I will do this.**

**I'm really enjoying writing this verse and I'm really hoping that you're enjoying reading it and all the side stories which are to go with it all. It's made all the effort I've put into planning it worthwhile especially every time I get a review. I wish I could explain just how much it blows my mind that you guys are willing to stay with me and share in the journey of this saga where there's not just the massive change of male Danny being female Danni and everything that entails but where there are OC galore. Your reaction to Jack and Rosie for example just blows my mind so thank you!**

**I know exactly where I'm going with this story so as long as my muse plays ball and stops getting distracted every two seconds then the next chapter should be up fairly soon… I hope.**

**This chapter as you can see is written by Jack's point of view. I seriously love Jack so I hope you all do as well! He's a fascinating character to write and to explore! There is a lot going on beneath that surface! That much is for sure!**

**Anyway please enjoy!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Jack O'Connor let out a sigh as he exited the burnt out house, his eyes flickering around the crowds who were held back only by a thin piece of yellow tape and a few uniformed officers and wondered thoughtfully whether this would be his life now.**

Overall Romance

**Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Others though they are currently a secret which no one knows bar me!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

**I should state however that the absolutely overall goal is for McDanni to happen… what happens before that point though is something else entirely.**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated are either made up or I've got from the internet so I'm sorry in advance if I get an address wrong or anything. My geography on Hawaii is very poor having never been there before!**

Other, other note

**There are plenty of other McDanni stories exploring different saga and different ways of how things happened. If you're interested in any of them then check them out. You can also look at my updated Bio page to see the order of things.**

**See I have been a busy girl **

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Finally getting somewhere

* * *

**1****st**** October 2010**

**1024 Carpenter Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Jack O'Connor's point of view

* * *

Jack O'Connor let out a sigh as he exited the burnt out house, his eyes flickering around the crowds who were held back only by a thin piece of yellow tape and a few uniformed officers and wondered thoughtfully whether this would be his life now.

It wasn't that he objected to it because he didn't; he liked all the members on his new team and the work would no doubt be interesting, it was just going to be a lot to learn and take in, considering what he had done in his old job before the Director had made his choice and sent Jack to live here in Hawaii full time.

He shook his head slightly trying to dislodge the thoughts as he turned his attention to the CSU team who were working on the perimeter of the house looking for any evidence the arsonist may have left behind in his rush to leave the scene before he was discovered. They worked as a unit, almost able to read each other minds without words, something he had been able to do with his old team. He would have to start learning their names and some basic information about them if he was going to be working with them. Danni seemed to be the people person on the team so she would probably be the one to ask. People were more likely to help if you knew their name then if you hadn't bothered to learn it.

Biting the inside of his mouth, Jack looked down at the singed laptop which was tucked away in the evidence bag he was holding and wondered whether they would finally strike it lucky and find something which could help them. The arsonist had been one step ahead of them from the beginning of the case and Jack was determined to find something they could use, something which would flip the tables and give them the advantage for a change rather than the other way round.

He headed down the path, nodding at the uniformed officer who held the tape up for him and slipped beneath it, heading over to where he had parked his car. He quickly unlocked it and climbed in, ignoring the attention that he had attracted from the crowd, all of them probably wondered who he was and what he was doing. He locked the doors behind him, placing the evidence bag on the passenger seat and started the engine, allowing himself just one moment to enjoy the feel of the car and the healthy sound the engine made. The car even had the new car smell to it that he loved. That was one pro to moving to Hawaii, the fact he could get a new car without feeling guilty that he already had a perfectly good one.

Jack looked back once more at the house before he twisted the steering wheel and pulled away from the kerb, driving slowly down the street to avoid hitting one of the neighbours who seemed to feel that standing in the middle of a road which was still in use was the best place to stand to find out exactly what was going on. He wondered whether people were genuinely this stupid or whether there was just something about the sight of an active crime scene and police that made them that way. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when he reached the highway, putting his foot on the pedal and flipped the radio on, allowing the familiar music to rush over him as his mind began wandering, focusing on the case trying to make sense of everything they had gathered so far.

It seemed as though his Director had been right when he had told him that he would find himself dealing with a variety of different cases rather than just the two types which he was considered an expert on, cases which would challenge him and test his abilities to the limit, something which the Director seemed to have believed he needed. The arson case could certainly be seen as one of those varieties which he had come across occasionally while reading through files but which he had never actually worked on himself before. The fact that the case wasn't going as smoothly as the previous case they had all worked on was different as well. During the last case they had always had a lead that they could follow but with this case it seemed that every lead they did locate ended up being a dead end and he knew that there time was running out and swiftly.

A man like the one they were chasing wasn't going to wait for them to catch up. He was going to make the most of his opportunities. Going by his past behaviour it was safe to make the assumption that he had already handpicked his target and was probably in the process of stalking them so he could learn everything about them. He could even have interacted with them and the victim wouldn't even know it, to his victim, he or she would simply be another customer of a friend of a friend but to the arsonist it would different, to him or her it would be intelligence gathering. Jack wondered how long he spent with them, did he takes months learning about them? Did he befriend them, acting like they were close when all the time he was scoping out their house to see how he could follow through with his plan, learning the entrances to the house and any possible exits.

Jack felt his eyes narrow, he wasn't going to allow this to happen again, he didn't want to see Steve or Danni pick up a call to be informed of another death, another one which they failed to prevent. He didn't want to look down at the burnt corpse of a child and be assaulted with images of his own girls in a similar situation. What the hell made a man kill a child and then burn them? Did he think he was saving them from something?

"Focus O'Connor" He said out loud to himself, using the sound of his own voice to focus his thoughts. It wasn't his job to get into the arsonists head to figure out why he did what he did and what turned him onto that path in the first place, that job would be down to the psychiatrist that his defence lawyers would probably insist he saw just in case they tried to plead insanity. It was his job to find any evidence or leads which might be on the laptop and to provide his team with backup if he got called in. If they were going to find anything which would blow the case wide open then it would be on the laptop, he just had to find it.

His thoughts drifted to the team. He still found it hard to believe that they had only been a full unit for three days, even the other four original members had only been a team for five years before he and Toast had joined the fold. It would probably take a while for them to get their different style of working to gel together but he had the feeling that when they did they would be pretty unstoppable. It would just take time.

He glanced at the clock in the dashboard, his mind wandering to his daughters, wondering how they would be settling into their temporary home. They had been surprised by everything on the island from the moment that they had stepped out of the airport into the warm air. He could still picture how wide their eyes had grown as they had stared at the passing scenery on the way home. Even his sister and his two nephews had been silent, preferring to gawk at everything they passed. He couldn't blame them, not really. Hawaii and Washington DC couldn't have been more different if they had tired. It would take some time for all of them, himself included, to feel comfortable enough in Hawaii to begin to think of it as home.

There were still so much to do as well now that they were with him. He still needed to find a house which would be their own, not one which he had rented because it had been the best one which he had seen which had looked halfway decent and which had appeared to be in a good area. Money wasn't a problem for him, the problem was finding somewhere which catered to all of their taste especially as his sister and nephews would be living with them as well which meant finding a place big enough so they wouldn't be living on top of each other. Once he had the location he could register both boys and his girls into school. They needed to keep to a familiar routine after all. Poppy's school should be the easiest since she was about the same age as Danni's daughter Grace, all he needed to do was get the information from the small blond and pray there was space in the class for one more. Having a work colleague who had a daughter the same age as his was a blessing since it would give Poppy a friend.

Jack tapped his hands against the steering in time with the beat of the music, hitting the indicator and pulling his car into the car park for their headquarters, moving through them until he found the space which Danni had allocated to him. Killing the engine, he breathed out, twisting in the seat and grabbed the evidence bag from the passenger seat and climbed out of the car, his eyes automatically going to the bright blue sky above him, noting that once again there was no cloud in the sky, normally by this time in Washington, the leaves would be turning red and brown with the weather beginning to turn cold to reflect the season. It was going to be hard to adjust to there being no seasons.

He moved round the car, locking it behind him and headed up the steps into the main building, flashing his badge at the guards who took a look at it before waving him though with a nod. Jack ignored the elevators, taking the stairs two at a time, pulling the door at the top open and entered the corridor their headquarters was based on. He walked down it and entered the quiet headquarters. He glanced around him, his eyes lingering on the offices, his eyebrow rising in surprise when he realised that he was the only one in the large area. Chin and Toast must have still been out checking the surveillance camera.

Shaking his head he placed the laptop on the computer table and headed into his office, looking around him for a moment, his eyes moving over the closed up boxes which he had been half way through unpacking when the case had come through. His eyes narrowing slightly before he caught sight of the one he wanted and he moved towards it, opening it and glanced inside, rummaging around for a moment before his face broke out into a grin as he pulled out the cord and two thumb drives which he was looking for.

"Got you both" He murmured to himself as he twisted back round and heading into the main room again and back to the computer table. He ripped open the evidence bag and reached inside, gently retrieving the laptop from within, placing it down on the table and placed the first thumb drive he needed into the socket of the laptop and waited for a moment until a small light began flashing on the thumb drive telling him that the watch dog program he had created was working. As much as he wanted to get stuck right in to see if the laptop had anything on it which they could use, he still had to be careful. For all he knew the arsonist was a computer expert who had planted a virus on the laptop as a precaution in case it didn't burn up in the fire which had clearly been his intention.

Jack glanced down at his watch, nodding to himself before he turned and headed away from the table and into the empty kitchen instead, grabbing his mug from the cupboard and made himself a quick, much needed coffee, before he headed back into the main room, looking around him to make sure he was still alone before the thumb drive beeped loudly at him, attracting his attention. The light had turned from amber to green meaning that the computer and it's thumb drive was free from any virus or potential malware which could have been hidden behind another system. He slipped the thumb drive out of the laptop and place it into his pocket before he picked up the cable he had brought out with him and attached one end of it to the back of the laptop, inserting the other side into the computer table. Checking everything was correct, he pressed the start button on the computer and waited. Breathing out nosily, he leaned forward, his palms resting casually on the surface of the table as the small screen flickered into life. He smiled slightly, his eyes moving up to the large plasma which was showing everything that the laptop was showing.

Pulling out the second thumb drive he inserted it, knowing it would run through every program on the hard drive looking for anything which would flag up as unusual; such as files which were too large for what they were meant to be.

The first thing which he saw was a picture of both Chens smiling up at him, obviously they had liked the photo enough to use it as their background, a glance at the program running, indicated that there was nothing greatly unusual about the hard drive yet. It seemed at first glance to be generic, the same as any other laptop which someone could buy off of the shop floor. It could be that the Chens hadn't used the laptop often or if they did they had simply left it exactly how it had been since the moment they turned it on for the first time. Out of both options he figured that the second one was probably the most likely. Most people had a basic idea of how a laptop worked but only a few who were interested in computers would take the time to learn the ins and out of their machines and upgrade it. Most people simply preferred using it for emails and to surf the web.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to be back already, I thought you'd still be out at the new crime scene with the others."

Jack looked up at the familiar voice, a smile coming to his face when his eyes locked onto Chin's dark eyes, taking in the curious expression the older man was giving him.

"I was with them but the Chens laptop actually survived the blaze with only a bit of minimum damage if you don't count the cosmetic damage to it so McGarrett took it from CSU and sent me back here to work my magic on it to see if I could actually find something on it. Danni and Kono were talking to the next door neighbour who rang the blaze in when I left and McGarrett was somewhere doing whatever it is that McGarrett does." Jack explained with a shrug, his smile widening when Chin grinned at his comment.

"He was probably glaring at CSU waiting for them to hurry the hell up so he could get in there and run the scene." Chin commented, raising his eyebrow when Jack laughed at the comment. He could easily picture it in his mind. Even after three days of knowing the other man, Jack knew that Steve hated not being in charge.

Shaking his head Jack looked back at the screen to see that the icons had finally finished loading up. His eyes flickered over them before he selected the one for email. Hopefully the Chens were people who kept themselves logged in which would save him some much needed times. If they weren't, then he would have to upload his codebreaker program to the laptop and wait for it to do the function he had programmed it to do. That would take time and that was the one thing which they didn't have much of, especially in the Arsonist had realised that they were closing in on him. Clearly he had not been expecting them to make the connection between him and the Chens so quickly. It had made him sloppy, that much had been clear from the way he had messed up their deaths by leaving not only the laptop but also a witness who had seen what had happened and who could probably identify him if they could get him a good photo to look at. The Arsonist had achieved his goal of killing the Chens but not up to his usual standards. The Chens death could be the one thing which led them straight to him.

"Have you managed to find anything on it yet?" Chin questioned as he moved across the room, stopping by Jack's side, his eyes on the plasma screen, watching as Jack worked.

"Nothing yet" Jack admitted, glancing towards him briefly. "But I've only just started. What about you and Toast? Did you manage to find anything at the cell phone shop? Speaking of Toast where is he? Wasn't he with you?" He questioned, looking around him, expecting the tall, lanky man to suddenly appear like he was in the habit of doing.

"Toast is just across the street quickly grabbing something" Chin said, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder towards the door way before he continued speaking. "We managed to get an image from the surveillance camera. Toast needs to upload it so he can clean it up slightly, if he managed that then we should be able to run it through your database and see whether we can get a hit from it. Steve and Danni think that the Arsonist may have started somewhere else first and ended up here. If that the case there should be some cold cases or even some open cases which follows the same patterns as the ones we have."

"If there is a record of it out there then we should be able to find it." Jack told him confidently.

"That's what we thought. Toast sent a copy of the picture to Danni's cell phone just in case the man she and Kono are interviewing recognises the man from the picture. We figured it was worth a shot."

Jack nodded, breathing out a sigh of relief when he saw that Rita Chen's email account was still logged into.

"This is lucky" He said to Chin before he selected the top email, briefly reading through the email before he came out of it and selected the next one repeating the same action. He was aware of Chin disappearing briefly from his side only to reappear moments later with a mug of coffee on his hands, the sight reminding Jack that he still had his own coffee to drink. Picking up his mug, sipping at it as he read another email.

They both glanced up when the door was pushed opened revealing Toast who was holding what looked like bright blue smoothie of some kind which Jack didn't even want to know about. It certainly explained what the other man had been getting. Shaking his head, Jack looked down, his eyes widening as he read the email. Blinking he reread it before he opened the attached photo.

"Chin I don't think we need my facial recognition program" Jack said slowly, attracting both of their attention to him as he double clicked the photo bringing it up on the main screen. "Meet Rita Chen's lover Terry Barclay, looking at this email and what he's written in it, I think it's safe to say that we have our man. You might want to call Steve to let him know" He said, glancing up at Chin and grinning at him.

Now they were beginning to get somewhere.

* * *

Author note

**Thanks for taking the time to read I really appreciate it.**

**An especially big thank you if you've taken the time to leave me a review or follow or favourite the story. It means more to me than you can know and makes all the hard work I put into this verse worth every second!**


	16. Back to headquarters

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Max Bergman and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Detective Abraham Lee, Martin Chen and Rita Chen, Doctor Rosie Lange, Doctor Richard White and Doctor Abigail Fitzgerald do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here's the next chapter for you all!**

**I'm going to try and focus more on this story for a while, I feel like I finally know exactly where I want to go with it and I want to start focusing on this saga. Not just finishing Burn but to start with the next one in this series since this saga is meant to be a long one.**

**I have definitely not abandoned this story or this version of the Danni saga because this is without doubt the favourite one I do and the one which started it all so it will always hold a special place in my heart. With the way the show is going as well, it's even more important to me to create a world where I can change all the wrongs being done to the characters and hopefully produce better plot lines for them. **

**I'll always try and remain faithful to the original show but this is an A/U and there will be a lot of changes, changes which I hope you'll feel are for the better. This was a great show after all!**

**It might take me a long time (since we're only in the second week of them being a team…) but I will do this.**

**I'm really enjoying writing this verse and I'm really hoping that you're enjoying reading it and all the side stories which are to go with it all. It's made all the effort I've put into planning it worthwhile especially every time I get a review. I wish I could explain just how much it blows my mind that you guys are willing to stay with me and share in the journey of this saga where there's not just the massive change of male Danny being female Danni and everything that entails but where there are OC galore. Your reaction to Jack and Rosie for example just blows my mind so thank you!**

**I know exactly where I'm going with this story so as long as my muse plays ball and stops getting distracted every two seconds then the next chapter should be up fairly soon… I hope.**

**Anyway please enjoy!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve glared at the CSU agent in front of him, taking in the other man's impassive face and found himself briefly wishing that he was back in the navy where the chain of the command structure actually seemed to mean something to the people who followed it.**

Overall Romance

**Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Others though they are currently a secret which no one knows bar me!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

**I should state however that the absolutely overall goal is for McDanni to happen… what happens before that point though is something else entirely.**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated are either made up or I've got from the internet so I'm sorry in advance if I get an address wrong or anything. My geography on Hawaii is very poor having never been there before!**

Other, other note

**There are plenty of other McDanni stories exploring different saga and different ways of how things happened. If you're interested in any of them then check them out. You can also look at my updated Bio page to see the order of things.**

**See I have been a busy girl**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Back to Headquarters

* * *

**1****st**** October 2010**

**1024 Carpenter Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Steve McGarrett's point of view

* * *

Steve glared at the CSU agent in front of him, taking in the other man's impassive face and found himself briefly wishing that he was back in the navy where the chain of the command structure actually seemed to mean something to the people who followed it. Though, he grudgingly admitted to himself, that the man was following his chain of command, he was just making it perfectly clear to Steve that he wasn't included in that chain and wouldn't be getting what he wanted.

"I don't have time for this, I want your name and I want your supervisors name as well" Steve demanded, breaking the silence which had fallen between the two of them, his eyes glancing down to the man's dark blue jumpsuit to see if it gave him the answer to his question before he glanced back up, meeting the man's narrowed dark eyes. The other man opened his mouth to speak though Steve wasn't sure whether it was to give him his name or to tell him to take a flying leap off the nearest building when another, already familiar voice smoothly cut in, dispersing some of the tension.

"Hey Steve, I've been looking for you, is everything okay here? Did you find what you needed inside?"

Steve tilted his head to the side as Danni came to a stop by his side, her large grey eyes flickering between the two men thoughtfully before she focused her attention on the CSU agent whose dark gaze softened as he smiled at Danni, indicating that the two of them knew each other though that was no surprise to Steve. He was beginning to think that his partner knew everyone in CSU and plenty of the other departments who they had come across during the course of their investigation.

"Danni, I wondered if I would see you here, I heard from Ryan that you had been given a transfer. Congrats on that, it's well deserved in my opinion." The man commented with a nod at her, the action causing her to smile back at him. Steve frowned slightly as he watched his partner who was still focusing her attention on the CSU agent who uncrossed his arms.

"Hey Tom, I didn't expect to see you here, I thought that you were still meant to be on leave. How are you? How was your trip?" She asked him, sounding genuinely interested in his response.

"It was a good vacation thanks Danni girl. We got back last Friday and spend the weekend recovering from jetlag. I was meant to come back to work tomorrow but we've got so many active cases in at the moment that Ry rang me and asked if I could come back a day early so I said yes." Tom explained with a shrug at her. Danni nodded at him.

"Well I'm glad you had a good time because no offence but you definitely needed the break" She said, lifting her hand and waving it towards Steve. "I've see you've met Commander McGarrett, he's head of the Governor's new taskforce and my new partner." Danni introduced.

"Oh yeah, I've just had the pleasure" Tom stated flatly going onto explain when Danni shot him a questioning look. "The Commander was just demanding that I handed him over some evidence we have bagged because he said there was someone on his team who, according to him, could do a better job at it then we can."

Steve's eyes flickered to the side in time to catch Danni suppressing a wince, she was quiet for a second before she spoke, her voice surprisingly soothing.

"Sorry Tom, I doubt he meant it as it came across, we're just trying to deal with a difficult case at the moment with multiple victims including children, I'm sure you can understand our need to find whoever is responsible as quickly as possible." She stated before she continued to speak. "All we need is your reports so we can go through them to see whether there is something on the hard drive which we can use which will point us in the direction of our suspect. I know your team has been incredibly busy at the moment with all the Fraud cases you've been working on for the white collar team. We have the computer experts on our team so if it's easier and helpful to you than we could take the physical hard drive from you and go through it instead. We can easily keep you in the loop with everything we're doing as we're doing it." She offered with a smile at him.

Tom looked at her carefully for a moment clearly running through her suggestion in his mind before he spoke, his previous aggression gone from his voice.

"I have to take it back to the headquarters so it can be logged in as evidence but once it has been then you can come and have a member of your team come by and collect it and you can do the tests on it as long as you send us copies of your reports and keep us in the loop." He stated. Danni nodded at him.

"That sounds fine to me. Thanks for that Tom, we appreciate it" She said, watching as Tom turned away from them with a nod at Danni and headed back into the house. Danni waited until he was out of hearing range before she turned to look at Steve. "What was all that about?" She demanded, sounding confused as her eyes searched his closely.

"I told him to give me the hard drive to the main computer they found in the house and he refused to hand it over to me." Steve told her shortly, frowning slightly when she sighed in response to his comment, reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose before she dropped her hand and focused on him again.

"You can't just demanded evidence from CSU team Steve, especially not when the person you're demanding it from is Tom Beaumont." She told him, a firm tone to her voice. Steve blinked at her, raising a questioning eyebrow at her.

"Who?" He responded blankly.

"Tom Beaumont is the head of the CSU cyber division. He and his team, deal with all that side of evidence, demanding something from him is like someone trying to demand that you give them a case which is ours which we both know would never happen" Dann remarked with a shake of her head.

"Well I'm guessing it can happen Danni because you've just managed to do it so clearly you must have the magical touch when it comes to CSU." He stated, his mouth curling up into a smile when she rolled her eyes at his comment, a slight flush of pink crossing her cheekbones in a way that Steve found strangely endearing, pushing the thought away, he changed the subject, "What have you and Kono found out from the witness? Anything which we can use or is it another dead end?" He queried, crossing his arms as he looked away from her, his eyes moving across the busy scene, lingering on the charred exterior of the house.

"It's not another dead end" She told him, a tinge of satisfaction coming to her voice. "We showed him a photograph which Toast sent me on my cell phone and Mr Baxter was able to ID as the man who he saw arguing with the Chens last night after they had been bailed. He also said that he has seen him at the house before so there's a good chance that he may actually have owned the house. It's likely that he has it under an alias as a precaution in case anyone got this close to him. He would have to have supplied them with some form of ID, if we can get a copy of that ID then we can use the photo on it and run it through the databases to see if anything pings from it." She suggested, flashing him a pleased smile.

"That's good work Danno, can you speak to Kono and-" his voice trailed off when his cell phone went off. He held his finger up at her, asking her to wait for a moment before he fished the handset from his pocket and answered it with a curt "McGarrett."

"Hey Steve, it's Chin. Jack's had a breakthrough from the laptop he took from the crime scene earlier. We've got a name for the man we think is responsible for it" He remarked, Steve could almost picture the grin on the other man's face.

"How did it happened? What name do we have?" Steve demanded, reaching our and gripping Danni's arm in his hand, stopping her from moving away from him.

"Hold it Chin, I'm just going to put you on loudspeaker so Jack can tell you about it" Chin stated, Steve waited impatiently until Chin spoke again, his voice sounding further away. "Okay Steve, you're on loudspeaker with me, Jack and Toast"

"O'Connor, Chin says that you've found something on the laptop?" Steve stated, glancing at Danni as she moved closely to him, an intent look on her face as though she was trying to hear the other side of the conversation. For a moment Steve was tempted to put the call onto loudspeaker so she could hear properly but he resisted the impulse. They were too out in the open where they were and the last thing that he wanted was to give anyone the heads up that they were closing in on their target. He blinked, focusing his attention back on the call when Jack sounds, sounding as cool and calm as he usually did.

"Yeah, we got lucky Steve. Rita Chen kept her email account logged in so we could get in and read her email. This guy was in contact with her regularly and it seems from the conversations they were having and the language they used that there was a lot more than just friendship between the two of them. If we dig deeper I'm sure we're going to find out that they were lovers together." Jack stated.

"So that's how she knew about where to go" Steve said slowly.

"She was well aware of what he was doing from what I can tell" Jack told him. "They've talked about it code but I thinks Rita might have been the one who was actually picking the targets and introducing them to him once the initial watching period was over." Jack said

"It would have been easier to do it that way" Chin commented thoughtfully. "We saw Rita Chen up close, she was pretty and I doubt she would have appeared as a threat to anyone."

"Do you think they knew each other before?" Steve asked, looking towards Danni when she reached out and nudged him in the side, giving him a look which told him that she wanted to know exactly what was happening, he held his hand up to her, giving her a look of his own.

"We won't know until we've gone through their background but they've clearly have crossed paths before now" Jack said. "We'll start digging through the background of them both now and see what we can come up with."

"What was the name?" Steve said quickly before he could hang up on him.

"Terry Barclay" Chin answered. "We'll let you know if we find anything which we could use"

"Good, Danni and I are heading back to headquarters now, fill us in when we get there on what you've found" Steve told the native man before he hung up the call and looked towards his partner. "I'll fill you in when we're in the car Danni" He told Danni who nodded at him, stepping in close to him and reached into his pocket ignoring his surprised look as she pulled out her car key, flashing him a smile.

"Let's go then" Danni stated, turning and heading across the ground towards where they had parked the car. Raising his eyebrow, Steve followed her, his eyes narrowing slightly when Danni unlocked the car and climbed in the driver's seat. He moved round the car and got in the passenger seat, looking towards Danni who smiled at him, clearly picking up on his annoyance at not being able to drive. "So tell me what Chin and Jack told you on the phone?" She asked him as she turned the key in the ignition and pulled the car into the road.

"It looks like we're hunting a man called Terry Barclay, from what Jack was saying it looks like Terry was in a relationship with Rita Chen " Steve answered her, leaning back in the seat, his eyes fixed on her as they moved easily through the traffic.

"Did the husband know that his wife was stepping out on him?" Danni asked sounding intrigued.

"That's what we need to find out" Steve told her. "The others are beginning a background check on them all to see whether there is any link between them."

"Terry Barclay" Danni remarked lowly, shaking her head.

"We've got him Danni" Steve said with a grin at her.

"We don't have him yet Steve" She said quietly, sharing a quick look with him before she focused back on the road.

Steve sighed as he nodded. There was still loose ends which they needed to clear up before they could go and get their man.

* * *

Author note

**Thanks for taking the time to read I really appreciate it.**

**An especially big thank you if you've taken the time to leave me a review or follow or favourite the story. It means more to me than you can know and makes all the hard work I put into this verse worth every second!**


	17. Closing in

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Max Bergman and anyone else within the story who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.**

**The character of Danni Williams could probably be considered mine by now. Although the character was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably to say that she is now her own individual characters. She had her own story and her own individual background now, a background and story which is different from male Danny's story. This also means that Grace is different as well since not only does she live full time with Danny but also because Danni and Duncan have a fairly civil relationship with each other. Grace's surname is also Taylor in this saga as Williams is Danni's maiden name while Taylor was her married name.**

**The characters of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Abraham Lee, Terry Barclay, Sally Clements, Kennedy Clements, Donovan Clements, Melody Clements, Martin Chen, Rita Chen, Doctor Rosie Lange, Doctor Richard White and Doctor Abigail Fitzgerald do belong to me though.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you don't recognise from the show then they probably belong to me as well.**

Author Note

**So here's the next chapter for you all.**

**All I can say is that I'm really sorry that it's taken me so long to update this story. It had never been my intention to take so long to update this story. It's always been at the back of my mind to update this story for a while but I just couldn't get passed this chapter. I hope now that I finally have that the flow for this story comes back to me. I have so many stories within this saga to tell and I'm determined to tell them!**

**This is my main saga, the one which holds the warmest place in my heart so please be rest assured that I won't abandon this even if sometimes it takes me a while to update it. With the way season six went and the way the powers that be have destroyed the McDanno friendship this saga is even more important to me. This saga is my way of rewriting all the wrongs in the show when it's come to the characters and the way they interact with each other.**

**I'll try to remain fairly faithful to the original show but this saga is an A/U and will involve a lot of changes, including new team members who I believe make sense. I just hope that you are willing to give them a chance and to love them the way I've grown to love them. Some people might consider there to be too many OC but I don't believe that is the case. If anything I think the fact that 50 only deal with one Medical Examiner unbelievable and so have rectified that by having a team of medical examiners working. There's also CSU who 50 would have a lot of contact with on every case but they are never showed in the show other than extremely rarely.**

**The end game is always McDanni but it may take a while to get there, they have only known each other for two weeks and each of them, especially Steve, have issues which they need to get through. There will be plenty of moments though which will hint at what is to come.**

**I'm really enjoying writing this verse and I hope you are enjoying reading it and all the side stories which go with it. It makes all the planning I've put into it worth while especially when you guys review. I wish I could explain just how much it blows my mind that you guys are willing to give this story a go and to share the journey with me. **

**Anyway please enjoy the chapter!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late. (Part Four of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Danni's hands tightened on the steering wheel, her eyes narrowing in thought as her mind raised through everything which they knew about the case and tried to slot the pieces into the correct place. If Terry Barclay was half as intelligent as she believed him to be then he would have an escape plan already planned out. One which he would be ready to execute at a moment's notice.**

Overall Romance

**Hints of Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Mentions of past Duncan Taylor / Danni Williams (Dunni)**

Chapter Romance

**The romance in each chapter is always going to be up to you the reader and what you want to see. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or who you are rooting to get together though it would be interesting to know what people are hoping for. I know I've made it clear that McDanni is the end game but they still need to get there first, what happens before then is beyond me until I start writing it.**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated within this story are either made up or have been gotten from google so I'm sorry in advance if I've got anything wrong or anything.**

Other, other note

**There are plenty of other McDanni stories exploring different saga and different ways of how things happened. If you're interest in any of them then please check them out. **

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

Closing in

* * *

**1****st ****October 2010**

**On route to Head Quarters**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Danni William's point of view

* * *

Danni's hands tightened on the steering wheel, her eyes narrowing in thought as her mind raised through everything which they knew about the case and tried to slot the pieces into the correct place. If Terry Barclay was half as intelligent as she believed him to be then he would have an escape plan already planned out. One which he would be ready to execute at a moment's notice.

For all they knew it could already be in motion.

Barclay must have known that they were on to him though Danni knew there was a chance that he didn't know just how close they were to having him behind bars where he belonged. He clearly was a man who didn't like leaving any sort of loose ends which probably meant that he was already making a move on his newest victim, sacrificing his usual routine to get the job done. Whether that job was merely to set the fire or to kill the individual he was targeting Danni didn't know. What she did know was that they had to find out who that victim was and stop him before he could claim another victim.

She pulled the car to a halt at a red light and turned to look at Steve, surprised to see the other man watching her quietly, clearly waiting for her to speak to him and fill him in on what she was thinking if the sudden questioning look in his eyes was any indication for her to go by. Her eyes flickered back to the lights to make sure they were still red before she spoke, breaking the silence in the car.

"We have to get over to Terry Barclay's house right now Steve" She told her, watching the way his eyebrow furrowed at her comment before she moved away from the light.

"Why right now?" He questioned.

Danni bit down on her lower lip, nibbling at it for a moment before she flicked the indicator and pulled the car to a stop in a spare parking space next to the kerb. She killed the engine and twisted in her seat so she was facing him and could give him her undivided attention without the concern of having to drive at the same time.

"Because Barclay knows we're closing in on him which means he's already going to be in the process of getting the hell off of the island. If he was sensible then he would already be on a plane out of here, disappearing from sight, changing his name and starting again but he won't have done that yet. Not until he's completed his final hunt. He can't just leave until he's finished what he has started and cleared up all the loose ends which means he's hunting his final victim now, the one who he has probably been stalking since before we were even handed the case. His home will hold clues as to who this is, if we don't get over there now then we may lose the opportunity on finding out who this is since he's more likely to burn his house down then let us get in there. He'll dispose of the evidence, kill the victim and be gone before we can even react." Danni explained, her words coming out quickly as she reached up and gripped the back of her neck, squeezing down on the muscle.

Steve remained quiet for a moment, his eyes fixed on her before he nodded.

"You think he's going to set fire to his own house and go after the victim while we're distracted by it" Steve stated, running a hand through his hair when she nodded at him.

"It's the most logical thing to do in his situation. He knows that the minute we hear about a fire then we'll be heading over there. It will give him the window of opportunity which he needs to get things done." She confirmed.

Danni watched as Steve reached into the pocket of his cargo pants and pulled out his cell phone. He pressed on one of the buttons and placed the phone on loudspeaker, holding it between them. The phone rang twice before it was answered a familiar, if distracted sounding voice.

"Special Agent O'Connor"

"O'Connor? It's Steve, I've got Danni here with me and you're on loudspeaker" Steve told him before he continued speaking, his voice slipping into a professional tone which Danni was used to hearing him use when he was speaking to the others. "Have you located where Barclay lives yet?" He demanded.

"Yes and no" Came Jack's reply.

"Yes and no?" Steve repeated sharing a quick glance with Danni. She bit on her lower lip again, a feeling of concern flooding through her.

"Yes I have found Barclay's home or should I say homes. He has four of them, one under his proper name or rather the name he's using while he's here on the island. He also has three houses which he purchased under three separate aliases." Jack stated.

"How do you know that the aliases belong to him?" Steve questioned, his hand tightening on the hand set.

"I found him on the database. He had five aliases but nothing has come up linked to that last name yet. You were both right though, he did start somewhere else. Guy was raised in Philadelphia and he remained there until three years ago when he suddenly packed up and left and came here to Hawaii, he appears to have remained here ever since." Jack explained.

"Did it say what he did for a living?" Danni asked, ignoring the quick look which Steve shot her.

"According to this, he's a construction manager?" Jack answered after a moment's pause.

"A construction manager?" Danni repeated sounding surprised, tilting her head to the side and looking at Steve. "I guess it makes sense in a way, a job like that would make it very easy to find work, there are construction jobs everywhere."

"It makes it easy to pick up and leave anytime he wants as well" Steve added thoughtfully.

"But it wouldn't put him in contact with fire" Danni stated with a frown, "You would have thought that someone who was obsessed with fire would try and get a job which would involve it."

"That's where it gets interesting Danni" Jack piped up, attracting her attention to the handset again. "I did some deep digging on the guy and it turns out that he used to be a firefighter but he lost his job. Guess when he lost it?"

"Three years ago?" Danni asked.

"Exactly right Danni, award yourself a gold star" Jack responded.

"And three years was when the fires started happening, maybe he could control his impulses before because he was surrounded daily by fire. He got his fix without having to do anything to get it." Danni remarked, biting down on her lower lip in thought.

"Or maybe he was the one who was starting the fires in the first place then rolled in and saved the day. No one ever thinks that the first responder could be the one who is responsible for something like this" Steve remarked.

"That's true" Danni said with a nod before she focused. "Jack, send me the addresses please."

"Already done" Jack said. "Do you want one of us to phone Judge Macmillan? He's on duty today and we're going to need some warrants if you want to get into any of those houses"

"I'll call him, I've worked with him a lot before so he might be more willing to issue if I ask him. We need the three of you to be ready to move out to the other locations. Chin and Kono to one. Jack you take Detective Lee with you to the other one." Danni instructed.

"I'm on it Danni" Jack said before he hung up on them. Danni breathed out, turning to Steve and spoke.

"As much as I hate to say this and trust me I do, I think we need to swap positions" Danni said on a sigh, looking up in time to see the way Steve's eyes lit up at her comment, his mouth curling up into a smile, a smile which made her stomach flip though she tried hard to ignore it.

"Those words are music to my ears Danno" Steve said, turning and opening the passenger door stepping out of it, Danni made a face before she did the same, crossing Steve at the back of the car before she climbed into the passenger side, watching as Steve made a show of getting comfortable. Danni rolled her eyes, bringing her cell phone out and searched through her contact book pressing on the one which would put her through to the judge. It rang three times before it was picked up.

"Good morning you're through to Judge MacMillan's office, how many I help you?"

"Hello Amanda, it's Detective Danielle Williams here, I was wondering whether I could speak to the Judge over an important matter of business."

"Hello Detective Williams it' been a while since we last heard from you, I heard about you promotion to the Governor's taskforce. Congratulations. I'll transfer you to Judge Macmillan now"

"Thank you Amanda" Danni said, waiting for a moment before another voice spoke over the phone.

"Hello Detective Williams, what can I do for you."

"Hello Judge Macmillan, I'm sorry to bother you but we need to get three warrants for three different locations urgently" Danni asked, tilting her head and nudging Steve. "Cell phone" She mouthed at him, holding out her hand before she turned her attention back to her conversation when the Judge spoke.

"Come on Detective Williams, we've known each other for six months now. You know I'm going to need a lot more detail than just that."

"Our suspect has four different address and he's in the wind, we think that the information we need to find out who his next victim would be"

"Do you believe that this victim is in immediate danger?" The Judge asked, a serious tone coming to his voice. She nodded regardless of the fact that he would be unable to see her.

"We believe that the suspect is in the process of tying up loose ends, as soon as he has killed his victim then he will attempt to leave the island. This man already has five different identities, and I would guess that it would be easy for him to create a new one and start up again elsewhere." She explained.

For a moment there was a silence before he spoke.

"Send me the paperwork and I'll sign it and have my assistant fax it straight back to you. You have your permission to enter the premises." He remarked.

"Thank you Sir, the paperwork should already be with you, my colleague faxed it over already."

"Good, I'll sign them now and return them. Good hunting Detective" He stated before he terminated the call. Danni closed her eyes for a moment, breathing out a sigh of relief before she focused back on Steve aware of him waiting for her response.

"He's agreed the warrants and will sign and return them now." She stated, watching as Steve's body tensed up, his eyes hardening in a way which made it clear to Danni that Steve was slipping into SEAL mode.

"Call the others and let them know Danni, we'll take the main residence" He stated. Danni nodded, pressing down on the number four button on her phone, her eyes flickering to Steve.

"And I'll be calling for back up as well, we've got no idea what he may find Steve" She stated firmly, turning away from him as the call was answered.

"Kelly"

"Chin, its Danni. The judge has agreed the warrants and we're good to go. Get Toast to call dispatch to get back up sent to each of the residence and make sure that they know not to have their lights and sirens on when approaching the houses, the last thing we want is to be caught unaware by this guy or to give him a heads up that we're coming for him. Steve and I are taking his listed residence, you choose between the lot of you who is taking what house and message the two of us so we know where you are. Make sure you wear your vests and are careful out there. We don't want any injuries this time round." She remarked.

"On it Danni, Kono has just checked the fax and it looks like the warrants have been signed and returned. I don't know what you said to the man to make him react so quickly but it clearly was enough to get the job done." Chin stated, she could hear him moving on the other end of the phone which probably meant that he was collecting his gun from his desk.

"Keep in contact Chin" She said, quickly saying goodbye and ending the call just as Steve hit the sirens and light. "Do you know where we're heading?" She asked Steve, watching as he easily moved her car through the heavy traffic which split for them. As much as she hated to admit it, Steve was as good a driver as he claimed to be.

"It should take us ten minutes to get there at this rate" Steve told her. "When we're closer I'll turn the lights and sirens off, as you said to Chin, we don't want to give him a chance to know we're coming and to escape from us."

Danni nodded, leaning down and picking her bag up, she took her gun, checking the clip and reassembled it quickly, her mind skipping through everything that they might find when they arrived. She glanced at her partner when he quickly killed the lights and sirens, pulling the car into a drive and stopping outside a house. She stared up at the house, her eyes narrowing slightly before she pushed open her door and climbed up, reaching up absently and pushing some stray hair which had escaped her hair style away from her eyes.

The place looked deserted with no sign of a car in the drive way but that could easily have been misleading, just because the car wasn't in the drive it didn't mean that Barclay wasn't inside.

She looked over the roof towards Steve.

"How do you want to do this?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow when he looked back at her, a gleam in his eyes which set her on edge. She has only seen that look once or twice since they had become partners and each time something had occurred which she disapproved of.

"First we make sure that he's not in there Danni" Steve told her, nodding towards the house.

"Somehow I thought you were going to say that Steve" Danni said with a sigh before she moved round the car, stopping by his side and tilting her head up so she could stare up at him. "Let's go"

Steve nodded, reaching out and touching her arm for a moment before he moved forward, Danni one step behind him, covering his six while her eyes moved around her, looking for anything which may have been unusual.

They stopped at the front door, Steve nodded towards Danni who returned the gesture before she raised her hand and knocked on the wood, listening carefully for any indication of movement but there was nothing. She glanced towards Steve who reached out and tried the door handle, he dropped his hand, taking a step back, his body tensing giving Danni a second to realise what he was about to do.

"No" She hissed, grabbing his arm quickly. "We don't want him to know we're here and if you kick down the door then he'll know. Can you not picklock it?" She asked his, glancing down at the lock, visually it looked a normal lock.

"I can but it will take a few moments Danni" Steve responded, she looked back at him, letting go of his arm and shrugged.

"Do it then" She responded, meeting his eyes for a moment, making sure her face was calm, whatever he saw seemed to relax him slightly as he nodded at her, moving past her and stopping in front of the door. He reached down into one of his numerous cargo pants pockets and pulled out a small black case the size of one of the old fashioned cigarettes cases she had seen in the old musicals which she liked watching. He opened it revealing a small selections of silver tools and pulled out two of them.

"Keep a watch out Danno" He stated, sparing her a quick glance before he focused his full attention on the lock, inserting one of the tools and began moving it. She watched for a moment, making a mental note in her head to have him teach her how to do it before her phone vibrated in her bag attracting her focus, she quickly pulled it out, giving the empty street another quick scan before she read the message which was from Toast. "Anything interesting?" Steve murmured.

"It's Toast giving me an update. The others are heading to the others houses though there is still one which is outstanding. He's spoken to dispatch and they're arranging to have back up to be sent. He's faxed over a copy of the warrants to them and they'll bring our warrant here now to us." Danni said quietly.

"Good" Steve said, a click from the door attracted her attention as Steve straightened, reaching for the door handle and pressing down again, this time the door swung silently open revealing a simple hallway painted in a pale blue. "Let's go" He stated, slipping into the hallway first, his gun moving from side to side as he scanned it. Danni followed him, closing the door behind her, her eyes moving across everything as they silently moved through the lower rooms of the house, clearing every area before Steve pointed silently upstairs where they proceeded to do the same thing.

There was no doubt about it, wherever Terry Barclay was, he wasn't at his home.

"Nothing here" Danni said, as they moved back down the stairs. Steve nodded, a distracted look on his face. "What is it? Did you see something?" Danni asked, tilting her head to the side as she waited for him to speak.

"Nothing here" He replied with a shake of his head before he looked at her, his eyes narrowed slightly as he searched her eyes. Danni remained quiet waiting for him to continue. "There's still one more house to search and none of us are there" He stated.

"There's only so many places we can be with the number of people we have." She pointed out softly.

"Exactly and Barclay has probably already done his research on us and knows that." Steve replied, reaching up and running a hand through his dark hair, leaving some of the strands standing on end. For an instant Danni wanted to reach up and smooth the strands down though she resisted the urge. Giving herself a mental shake before she spoke, her voice steady.

"Probably" she said cautiously.

"Danni, I'm going to head to that fourth house and check it out. This place is clear and back up is already on route. I want you to stay here and start looking around to see what you can find. Time is of the essence here and we don't have the time to search this place and head over to the over residence. He may already be there." Steve said, moving towards the door.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a moment Steven" Danni said as she followed him, slipping past him and placing her hand on his chest. "This man has killed several people already and he's clearly devolving. You can't head over there by yourself, what if he is there and something happens to you. We should wait for back up and then go together so I can be there to cover your back in case something goes wrong. He's taken down men who have the same physique as you, what if he takes you down and decides to make you his last target?" She demanded, a wave of sickness crashing over her at the thought.

"Danni, we don't have the time to do that. If what you believe is true then he has already grabbed his target. We need to find him or her before it's too late. The information may be in the other house and as you said, we don't have enough people to cover four houses and the backup isn't there. You want to find Barclay don't you?" He demanded. Danni met his eyes for a moment before she sighed, her hand falling from his arm.

"Just… just be careful okay Steve?" She said quietly, stepping out of his way.

"Hey, I'm always careful" Steve told her, flashing her a smile as he walked passed her, his hand coming out and wrapping round the back of her neck. "You be careful as well Danno." He stated, his eyes meeting hers for a moment before he exited through the front door leaving Danni alone. She closed the door behind him, closing her eyes for a moment as she breathed out before she looked around her, wondering where to start.

Her eyes skipped to the stairs, focusing on them for a moment before she headed over towards them making her way back up there. It would make sense for Barclay to keep his hunts hidden from anyone who might come round to visit him which would mean that he would have to keep it in a room where people wouldn't go. A room which would be up the stairs, Barclay had a separate bathroom downstairs so there would no reason for anyone to head up there.

Danni frowned as she looked around her, opening the first door and glancing round at the neat bathroom before she pulled it closed and headed to the next one, a slight smile coming to her face as she found herself in the study. Danni moved towards the desk, looking round the clear surface before she focused on the set of drawers beneath it. She leaned down slightly, muttering a curse when she found both of them were locked. She searched the desk, lifting everything up but there was nothing on the surface which could be used to open it up. Danni stood back, glancing around her again before her eyes dropped, a glint of silver attracting her attention. She knelt down, head tilted slightly to the side as she reached beneath the small gap and pulled out the key.

"Gotcha" She muttered to herself, putting the key into the lock and turning it, breathing out a sigh of relief when it turned easily in her hand. Danni pulled the drawers open and looked at the files, which labelled with a name, at least four of the names she could see were previous victims. Her heart sank when she saw there was at least twenty files in there. Were the previous victims or were they potential victims? Danni pulled out the file which was next to the Hall family file and glanced at the name.

Sally Clements.

Danni flipped the file open scanning the information quickly.

Sally Clements, thirty five years old, married to Kennedy Clements who was thirty eight with two children Donovan who was seven years old and Melody who was three. There was nothing special about them as far as she could see so why had Barclay targeted them?

How did he pick his targets? Was there something he saw in them that made him pick them or was there something else? Was he the one picking the targets or was it someone else? Had it been Rita picking the victims?

Danni breathed out, shaking her head before she suddenly froze as she heard the sound of the front door opening. She turned to the door, listening for the familiar sound of HPD informing her that they had arrived but there was nothing meaning that they hadn't arrived yet.

Danni slowly placed the file back on the desk and silently made her way to the door, opening it slightly and peered out, her heart sinking when she heard a frightened female voice drift up the stairs.

"Why are you doing this to me? What have I done to you?"

"Just shut up" a cold male voice responded followed by the sound on flesh on flesh and a sharp cry of pain.

Danni reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, quickly bringing up a message and added the rest of the team to it, she wrote it.

**Suspect is in the house with me with the victim. SOS, Send help**

Danni slipped the phone away, glancing back at the files before she slipped out of the room and glanced over the bannister, frowning when she couldn't see or hear anything.

There was only one thing she could do.

She needed to get closer.

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it. **

**I really appreciate it**


	18. Head to Head

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Max Bergman and anyone else within the story who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.**

**The character of Danni Williams could probably be considered mine by now. Although the character was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably to say that she is now her own individual characters. She had her own story and her own individual background now, a background and story which is different from male Danny's story. This also means that Grace is different as well since not only does she live full time with Danny but also because Danni and Duncan have a fairly civil relationship with each other. Grace's surname is also Taylor in this saga as Williams is Danni's maiden name while Taylor was her married name.**

**The characters of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Abraham Lee, Terry Barclay, Sally Clements, Kennedy Clements, Donovan Clements, Melody Clements, Martin Chen, Rita Chen, Doctor Rosie Lange, Doctor Richard White and Doctor Abigail Fitzgerald do belong to me though.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you don't recognise from the show then they probably belong to me as well.**

Author Note

**So here's the next chapter for you all.**

**As you can see I did manage to get this story updated a lot quicker than the last time so brownie points for me.**

**This chapter is shorter than the others but that is because it's pretty action packed and the place I left it seemed the best place to leave it. Action packed chapters are normally a weakness of mine so I'm hoping that I do it justice.**

**This story is now in the home straight which is very exciting for me! After this I'll be writing two one shot stories followed by my next chapter story which will be called 'Respect the land'. This will be a rewrite of season one, episode three. I had originally thought everything would be the same when it comes to the basic plot but I think it's safe to say that that won't happen here. There's too many differences already. I will however try and keep to the overall plot as much as possible**

**There's nothing more to say other than I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late. (Part Four of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Danni turned, heading back into the study for a moment to drop her bag to the floor before she headed to the stairs, hunching down as she listened for any sounds which would indicate exactly where Barclay was in the house. He had clearly decided that the best way for him to escape was to kill two birds with one stone. **

Overall Romance

**Hints of Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Mentions of past Duncan Taylor / Danni Williams (Dunni)**

Chapter Romance

**The romance in each chapter is always going to be up to you the reader and what you want to see. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or who you are rooting to get together though it would be interesting to know what people are hoping for. I know I've made it clear that McDanni is the end game but they still need to get there first, what happens before then is beyond me until I start writing it.**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated within this story are either made up or have been gotten from google so I'm sorry in advance if I've got anything wrong or anything.**

Other, other note

**There are plenty of other McDanni stories exploring different saga and different ways of how things happened. If you're interest in any of them then please check them out. **

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Head to head

* * *

**1****st ****October 2010**

**28970 Watson Avenue**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Danni William's point of view

* * *

Danni turned, heading back into the study for a moment to drop her bag to the floor before she headed to the stairs, hunching down as she listened for any sounds which would indicate exactly where Barclay was in the house. He had clearly decided that the best way for him to escape was to kill two birds with one stone.

Kill Sally Clements and burn his house and all the evidence which lay within to the ground before getting the hell out of there.

It was a solid plan, one which she could kick herself for not thinking of before.

A muffled thump caused her eyes to narrow as she brought up a mental map of the house in her mind. From the direction the sound came from she would guess that Barclay and his victim were currently in the living room. There had only been one doorway into the room from what she could remember which meant that all Danni had to do was to keep him occupied and talking enough to distract him from his goal until the others came. It might take Chin, Kono and Jack a while to get there depending on the distance of the other houses to this one but Steve had only been gone for around about fifteen minutes, with the way she knew he could drive, he would probably be back with her within ten minutes if not sooner.

Mind made up, Danni closed her eyes for a moment, saying a quick prayer under her breathe before she slowly began making her way down the stairs, trying to tread as lightly as she could down them. Any sound at this point could announce to Barclay that she was there and she needed the element of surprise if this was to work.

She reached the bottom of the stairs, glancing towards the front door before she moved passed it down the hallway ignoring the first doorway and heading straight to the second. It was partially open, sounds emerging from it telling her she had been right in her guess. Leaning forward she glanced through the crack to take stock of everything, Barclay had his back to her, tying up Sally Clements who was struggling feebly against him indicating that ether he hadn't administered the paralysing drug yet or it didn't work quite as fast as they had original suspected it did.

Either way Danni was out of time and had to act, if she didn't then Sally Clements would be killed in front of her.

Danni breathed out, slipping through the door and brought her gun up, her eyes flickering briefly to Sally before she focused on Barclay and spoke, her voice cool and calm.

"Terry Barclay, this is the Governor's task force, turn round slowly with your arms above your head."

The man froze for a split second before he reached down and lightly patted his hand against Sally's cheek, ignoring the frightened noise she made at the action as he turned to face Danni. He was a tall man, around about the same height and build as Steve was with dark red hair and dark brown eyes. He would probably have been considered good looking which would certainly explain how he might have made initial contact with his victim. Most women were flattered when a good looking man paid attention to them.

"Detective Williams" He said slowly, a wide smile coming to his face as he brought his hands together in a slow mocking series of claps. "I should congratulate you on managing to do what has taken Detective Lee months to do. You've found me."

"So we did" Danni responded, her hand tightening on the gun, her finger already on the trigger ready to pull if the situation required it.

"And yet where is the rest of your team? I would have thought they would have been in here with you. Don't tell me Detective that your guard dog left you here alone?" Barclay taunted as his smile widened into a grin which didn't reach his cold eyes. "This is better than I had hoped, I had been hoping either you or Officer Kalakaua would be the ones to find me but I never quite expected for the Commander to leave his most prized possessions alone like this for me to have fun with. I should send him a fruit basket as a thank you."

"It's over Barclay, I want you to get on your knees with your hands behind your head." Danni stated, ignoring everything he was saying. The other man was clearly trying to get into her head, to keep her off balanced with his comments. Something she wouldn't allow to happen.

Barclay remained standing, tilted his head from one side to the other as though he was considering her request carefully. Danni kept her eyes fixed on him, not willing to look away even to glance towards the victim. She had a feeling that the man in front of her was merely waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to decline your request Detective, I'm not one who really enjoys being on the floor you see. I don't think there's much you can do about it either, you're clearly here without back up so…" He trailed off with a casual shrug before his stance suddenly changed and he charged at her.

Danni had enough time to get a shot off, hitting him in the shoulder as she twisted away but it didn't even slow him down, he averted his course, grabbing her arm in a rough hold while his other fist swung round, catching her round the temple in a blow which stunned her, causing her to stumble back as her hand loosened around the gun, sending it to the floor. She blinked, focusing her vision in time to wrench her arm out of his hold, both coming up to fend off another hard, fast blow as she kicked out, catching him hard in the knee. He roared as it buckled, giving her a chance to move out of his range for a split moment, her eyes scanning him looking for any potential weakness other than the knee she just damaged.

He was clearly stronger than her and although she was faster and more agile, his longer reach would make it more difficult for her. There was no sign of any finesse in his fighting skill indicating that to her that he was an all-out brawler.

Her head was already ringing from the blow she has received, a trail off warmth sliding slowly down the side of her face telling her that the ring he wore had managed to cut her and she was now bleeding from it.

"Come now Detective, surely there's no reason that the two of need fight. If you give in now then I can make your end extremely quick and painless, you wouldn't feel a thing."

"That's generous of you but I think I'll take my chances as they are" She replied back, he was standing near her gun making it impossible for her to get to but he was making no effort to pick it up himself meaning that either he hadn't seen it yet or he felt as though he didn't need it.

He laughed, the sound sending a shiver down her spine.

"Well you certainly are tough I'll give you that. It's almost a shame that I have to kill you but I do, you understand why right? How else can I send a message to your Commander and the other members of your team? They need to realise what happens when they stick their nose into things which don't concern them." He told her, his tone coming across as reasonable as though he believed ever word which he was saying to her.

"That wouldn't stop them from doing their jobs if anything it would make them more determined." Danni retorted, her eyes scanning around her for anything which she could use to defend herself, her eyes landed on the fireplace which Sally Clements was in front of, a small flame of hope lighting in her chest as she began to slowly edge herself towards Sally and the fireplace, praying that it wouldn't bring his attention to the other terrified woman.

"Oh but it would. I've been watching you all over the past few days and it's been very interesting what I've already discovered. I almost didn't believe it when I found out that you had only been a unit for a week or so. You've already built up quite the connection especially you and Commander McGarrett. I have the feeling that if I took you out then your Commander would run straight back to the navy to lick his wounds, then your team would be disbanded." He told her, the comment causing her eyes to narrow.

"That's where you're wrong and it just shows that you can spend all the time you want watching people, you can think that you know them but you don't" She told him, stopping just in front of the fire place where Sally was, she took a step back, waiting until he glanced away from her for a moment before she picked up one of the pokers, hiding it behind her back.

"I guess we'll just have to see" He replied, moving towards her quickly again, Danni moved away from Sally and the fireplace, trying to keep his attention on her.

"Tell me, what came first for you the fire or the murder?"

He lunged at her, ignoring her question clearly deciding that the time for talking had now passed. Danni jumped back, hissing when his fingernails ripped down the soft skin of her forearm, breaking the skin though she made herself ignore the impulse to cover the wound, instead stepping swiftly to the right and swung out with the poker, hitting him directly in the knee again, this time it gave way giving her the chance to swing it again and smash it against his head. He grunted, reaching out and snagging her ankle before she had a chance to move and yanking her down.

She hit the ground hard, twisting on the spot so she was facing him and kicked out, hitting his square in the face. She struggled out of his hold, scooting along the ground trying to regain her feet when his full weight crashed down on her back, sending her down again with a cry of pain she couldn't keep in.

"Now that's a pretty little sound Detective" He murmured in her ear before he flipped her around, grabbing the poker she had used and holding it over her throat. She brought her hands up, grabbing it and trying to push it away but Barclay's strength was greater than her own, the blood from his head wound dropping onto the poker made it slippery to grip as well. "Well this certainly has been fun but I have work to do and a theory to prove. I think I'll kill you now, place you next to dear Sally and then watch the two of you burn. It's a shame I can't watch the results and your teams reaction but at least I can watch the light draining from your eyes pretty lady." He remarked with a grin and a wink at her.

Danni struggled harder but she couldn't shift him. The pain from her head making it hard to focus though she knew she had to. She had to think of Grace.

"Any last requests?" He asked her pleasantly as he pressed down further, the poker pressing against her throat making words impossible. "None? Oh well I'll be sure to let your team know something. Maybe I should tell them you begged for help" He said. Danni glared up at him, still struggling when suddenly there was a cry of rage followed by Barclay's weight disappearing from her leaving her holding the poker.

She lay there for a second, gasping for air before she forced herself to throw the poker to the side of the room and tilt her head, her eyes widening when she realised that Barclay was fighting against Steve and he was losing badly, Steve countering every move the red headed man had before he struck, every move fuelled by an anger which she hadn't seen from Steve before. She wanted to call out to him, to warn him against going too far but she couldn't force the words out of her throat.

Danni tilted onto her front forcing herself to move towards Sally Clements who was watching the scene with large eyes, stopping next to her.

"You're going to be okay" She managed to get out, quickly finding the end of the sticky tape he had used to bind her wrists and unwrapped it. "Can you untie your feet" She told the other woman who shot her a frightened look before she nodded.

"I… I can" The other woman said

Danni looked back at the fight, unsurprised to see that Barclay was now on the floor, curled up holding what looked like a broken wrist to his chest.

"Steve enough" Danni managed to get out, pushing herself unsteadily to her feet, one hand flung out as though it would aid her balance more. "He's done. We need to arrest him not kill him, if we kill him then his victims will never get the justice which they deserve."

Steve looked towards her, rage darkening his eyes though all he did was nod at her, his jaw clenching as he turned back to Barclay and yanked his arms, including the broken one, behind his back and cuffed him ignoring the scream of pain that ripped out of the man at the treatment.

"HPD"

"GOVERNOR TASKFORCE FREEZE"

Danni blinked as the door flung open revealing a SWAT team being led by Chin and Kono with Jack just behind them. Her eyes dropped to their weapons, raising an eyebrow when she realised that they had brought the big guns out with them.

"Danni" Kono said, skirting round Barclay and heading straight to Danni, her hand coming out and wrapping gently round Danni's upper arm as concerned dark eyes looked her over. "You look awful, are you okay?" She demanded, the comment causing Danni to laugh slightly.

"I'm fine" She said, "Just a bit bruised from the fight. Take care of Sally, she was Barclay's last intended victim, he was going to kill her and burn her in the house."

Kono looked torn before she nodded once and helped Sally to her feet, leading her out of the room. Danni breathed out watching as Jack and Steve dragged Barclay to his feet and followed them out of the room with two member of the SWAT team going with them, their guns pinned on Barclay ready to shoot him if he tried to do anything.

"You okay?"

Danni blinked looking at Chin who had appeared at her side and gave him a wry smile.

"Nothing that a couple of painkillers couldn't solve" She responded, "I was in his study when he arrived with Sally Clements. He has at least twenty files up there of his targets, we'll have to see whether any of them are outstanding so we can inform their families that we've found their murderer."

"I thought he only started murdering when he got here?" Chin asked, wrapping his arm around her waist as he gently gripped her arm putting it round his shoulders and began walking to the door.

"Chin I'm okay" She told him, looking towards him in time to see him tilt his head and give her a soft smile.

"Humour me okay?" He asked, she searched his eyes for a moment before she sighed.

"Fine, as for whether he started murdering when he got here well I thought that was the case but after seeing those files I'm not so sure. I'm beginning to think he was caught in a pattern he couldn't break free off. Maybe he always started with fires and then eventually evolves to murder which caused him to have to get up and leave again, starting afresh somewhere else" She remarked, wincing when her ankle gave a throb.

"We'll soon find out" Chin said, stopping next to one of the ambulances and passing her over to the EMT who looked familiar to her. Danni blinked before she smiled.

"Hey Hazel, looks like I'm the one who you'll be fixing up this time round" She remarked wryly before she focused back on Chin. "Go and get those files and if you could would you mind grabbing my bag as well?" She asked Chin who nodded at her.

"I'll get both of them now" He promised her with a smile before he turned and left Danni with Hazel who smiled at her.

"Let's get you fixed up Danni, it sounds to me like you still have a long day ahead of you." She commented as she sat Danni down on the gurney inside the ambulance, closing the doors behind her.

Danni glanced up and nodded, a slight smile coming to her face.

"You have no idea."

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it. **

**I really appreciate it**


	19. I'm okay Steve

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Max Bergman and anyone else within the story who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.**

**The character of Danni Williams could probably be considered mine by now. Although the character was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably to say that she is now her own individual character. She has her own story and her own individual background now, a background and story which is different from male Danny's story. This also means that Grace is different as well since not only does she live full time with her mother but also because Danni and Duncan have a fairly civil relationship with each other. Grace's surname is also Taylor in this saga as Williams is Danni's maiden name while Taylor was her married name.**

**The characters of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Abraham Lee, Terry Barclay, Sally Clements, Kennedy Clements, Donovan Clements, Melody Clements, Martin Chen, Rita Chen, Doctor Rosie Lange, Doctor Richard White and Doctor Abigail Fitzgerald do belong to me though.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you don't recognise from the show then they probably belong to me as well.**

Author Note

**So here we are with the second to last chapter for you all**

**As you can see I did manage to get this story updated a lot quicker than the last time so brownie points for me.**

**It's hard to believe that I'm almost there now! There is seriously no better feeling for a writer then when you realise that you are nearly finished with a long chapter story other than getting reviews of course because that's also a pretty awesome feeling.**

**As previously mentioned there will be two one shots which I will place up after this chapter story and then I shall place the next chapter story up which is based on the third episode of season one and will be named 'Respect the land'. The good news is for you fans out there that I have already started writing up chapter one of it so hopefully you won't have to wait too long.**

**I'm hoping if things turn out the way I want that the story will be updated once maybe twice a week so there won't be any massive long delays between chapters like there was in this story!**

**Anyway there's nothing more to say other than I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late. (Part Four of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve stared around the ruined living room, his eyes narrowed as he took in all the evidence of the fight which had occurred in the room, a fight which would never have happened if Steve had remained with Danni instead of leaving her without back up.**

Overall Romance

**Hints of Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Mentions of past Duncan Taylor / Danni Williams (Dunni)**

Chapter Romance

**The romance in each chapter is always going to be up to you the reader and what you want to see. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or who you are rooting to get together though it would be interesting to know what people are hoping for. I know I've made it clear that McDanni is the end game but they still need to get there first, what happens before then is beyond me until I start writing it.**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated within this story are either made up or have been gotten from google so I'm sorry in advance if I've got anything wrong or anything.**

Other, other note

**There are plenty of other McDanni stories exploring different saga and different ways of how things happened. If you're interest in any of them then please check them out. I'm regularly updating so you shouldn't be waiting too long**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

I'm okay Steve

* * *

Steve stared around the ruined living room, his eyes narrowed as he took in all the evidence of the fight which had occurred in the room, a fight which would never have happened if Steve had remained with Danni instead of leaving her without back up. As far as he was concerned every cut and bruise she had obtained had been his fault and he was determined not to allow it to happen again.

Sally Clements had been more than happy to fill in the blanks for Kono on her way to the ambulance and he had overheard every word as he and Jack had dragged Terry Barclay to the nearest squad car and had thrown him roughly in the back, telling the two startled cops who were in the process of leaving the car to take him back to the Aliiolani Hale and place him in interrogation room one. Steve hadn't even waited for them to acknowledge his command before he had tuned his hearing back into Sally Clements verbal account. The traumatised woman had talked about how Danni had distracted Barclay from Sally and how pleased Barclay had been to see Danni alone. Steve's teeth clenched as her words about how Barclay had made a point of saying that he was pleased that Steve had left his prized possession unguarded floated round his head again making him wish he was back with Barclay so he could continue the beat down he had given the other man.

He had known the minute he had entered the house that something was seriously wrong and that Danni needed him but he hadn't expected to come into the living room to see Danni on the floor with Barclay straddling her trying desperately to keep herself from being murdered. How Steve had held himself back from killing Barclay was beyond him. Perhaps it was the knowledge that Danni was watching him which stopped him.

He had wanted to go straight to Danni as soon as Sally Clements was out of hearing range but when he had turned round he had seen Chin helping Danni into another ambulance and had decided to wait until she had been treated to see her. He had headed back into the house and into the living room, trying hard not to think about how close he had been to losing his partner.

"You alright Steve?" Steve blinked, looking over his shoulder to see Chin standing in the door way. His arms were crossed over his chest, a look of understanding and compassion in his dark eyes as he moved away from the door and towards where Steve was standing in the middle of the room.

"Fine" Steve said shortly. "Barclay is in custody and Sally Clements is safe, it's a win-win situation." He stated, the remark causing Chin to nod at him.

"True" He said slowly, his eyes searching the room.

"How was Danni? Was she okay?" Steve asked attracting Chin's attention again.

"She's going to be okay Steve, she's a bit battered and bruised but she seems herself, brushing it off and eager to get back in here to see the files which she found. You know what happened to her isn't your fault and Danni would be the first one to tell you that, hell she probably will the moment she sees you." Chin told him, the simple comment causing Steve to snort in disbelief.

"Well maybe she should blame me Chin" He replied lowly as he met Chin's eyes, the ball of anger growing in his stomach as he spoke. "A week into running this task force and I nearly get my partner killed because I left her here with no back up. Isn't that rule 101, you don't leave your partner unprotected without any form of help?"

"We were in a tough situation Steve with a time limit. We were trying to save another life. You had no way of knowing that Barclay would have brought Sally Clements back to this house. You did what you had to do. That fourth house had to be checked and you didn't leave Danni unprotected, not only because back up was already on route to the scene but also because Danni has shown that she can fight and defend herself if the situation calls for it."

"It didn't look that way to me when he was choking her with a damn poker." Steve countered swiftly, his hand balling into fists at his side as the memory sprung up in his mind again

"So give her hand to hand training then and teach her to be better so that she has a better chance if this happens again." Chin responded with a shrug, reaching out and placing his hand on Steve's shoulder. "Danni is the first to admit that her fighting skills are lacking, her height and build work against her and she isn't strong. She knows that but she is extremely fast and she is clever and can think on the spot and while she might not have won the fight against Barclay she sure as hell gave him a hard time and made him work for it, those injuries he has, came from his fight with her."

Steve breathed out looking at the older native and nodded before he focused back on the job at hand.

"You said that Danni wanted to look at some files she had found?" He queried. Chin nodded, stepping back and letting his hand drop from Steve's shoulder clearly taking the change of subject as what it was. A way to redirect the conversation on to more solid ground.

"That's what she said when I was taking her to the ambulance. She had been upstairs in the study when Barclay arrived which was why he didn't know she was there straight away. She said that they looked as though they were Intel files for victims though she didn't know whether the victims were potentials ones or past ones. They could even be a mixture. She wanted to go through them so she could give some families some closure."

Steve frowned slightly, giving the living room one final glance before he walked out of it, leaving it in the capable hands on the CSU team who had just entered and headed towards the stairs with Chin right behind him.

"Where are Kono and O'Connor now?" Steve queried over his shoulder.

"Kono is outside taking the victim's statement still and Jack is…" Chin voice trailed off for a moment.

"In here" Jack responded himself, his head popping out of a nearby room. "I think I found the room that Danni must have been in when Barclay came in the house because her bag is in here." He told them before he disappeared again from sight. Steve headed into the room, looking around him, his eyes landing on Danni's bag before he looked towards Jack who was flipping through some files.

"Those the victim files?" He asked the blonde man who nodded at him.

"It looks like it" Jack replied "I'm just reading the names out to Toast so he can start looking into them to see whether they are still alive or dead" He stated, nodding towards the cell phone which was on the table.

"Hey guys" Toast's voice came over the phone line. "Glad you're all safe. How is blondie? Is she okay? Jack said that she was in a fight with the Barclay guy?" He asked, his voice sounding concerned.

"She's going to be fine Toast, the EMT are with her now. How many names have you been through so far?" Steve asked him, coming to a stop next to Jack and looking down at the stack of files.

"We've gone through three so far and so far all three are listed as deceased and all three were killed in a fire which the cops placed down as arson. I should also add that all of them are currently listed as unsolved boss." Toast responded.

"Not unsolved anymore" Chin remarked quietly, the comment causing Steve to nod his agreement.

"Jack, take the files and head back to headquarters with them, you and Toast can work faster if you can split the work between the two of you. Chin, I want you to head over to the fourth house, I didn't manage to get there in time before Danni's text came through. Take Detective Lee with you and see whether there is anything there which we can use. I want to make sure that this case is airtight so that Barclay gets the highest sentence possible." He told the two men with him, waiting until they nodded at him.

"What about Kono?" Chin asked.

"She's staying here with Danni and me until we have everything we need from the crime scene." Steve responded. "Make sure you keep in contact with us especially when you reach the other house, I want to know what is there." He nodded at them and headed back out of the room, down the staircase and out into the sunshine, ignoring all the activity around him as he headed towards the ambulance which Chin had led Danni to.

Just as he approached, the door opened and Danni climbed out, a smile on her face as she turned to the female EMT who had followed her out. Steve was close enough to hear his partner speak.

"Thanks for everything Hazel" She stated before she turned and took a few steps away, her eyes coming up and widening when she saw Steve approaching. "Hey" She said, heading towards him and stopping in front of him. "Are you okay?"

Steve couldn't help the small laugh of disbelief which escaped him at her comment. She was the one who was banged up and injured yet she was inquiring after him.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He responded, reaching out without thinking and wrapping his large hand round the back of her neck, holding her still while his eyes roamed over her. She had butterfly stitches in the cut at her temple and he could already see the bruises beginning to form on her pale skin but her eyes seemed bright and clear.

"I'm fine" she told him softly. "Just a few cuts and bruises but nothing which is going to scar or cause me any long term damage. I should thank you though for arriving when you did and helping me out. I was beginning to run out of ideas" She admitted.

"Ideas? Danni you could have been killed by him" Steve said, his grip tightening for a moment before he forced himself to let go of her and take a step back.

"Could have but wasn't" She stated, crossing her arms over her chest. "I knew you were all coming, all I had to do was keep him busy and his attention away from Sally Clements until you came and I managed it. How is Sally by the way? Is she okay?"

"I'm not sure, Kono is the one who has been with her." Steve said, nodding his head in the direction of the other ambulance where Kono still stood talking to the victim.

"What about the others? What are they doing?" Danni questioned.

"Jack is taking the files you found back to headquarters so he and Toast can go through them and start informing the various police departments that we found their guy for the cases, while Chin and Detective Lee are going to head to the fourth house to make sure there isn't anything there. You, me and Kono are staying here to run the crime scene." He explained.

"Sounds like a good plan to me" Danni said, shooting him a smile before she turned and headed across the grass towards Kono. Steve followed her, coming to a stop next to Danni who was focusing her attention on Sally Clements. "How are you feeling?" She asked the other woman, her voice quiet and steady.

"I'm okay thanks to you" Sally responded shakily. "If you hadn't of been there Detective then…" her voice trailed off and she shuddered.

"Try not to think of it" Danni advised, reaching out and squeezing down on the other woman's shoulder with a warm, reassuring smile. Steve reached out and gently wrapped his arm round Danni's elbow, using the light grip to pull her away from the victim.

"Kono" He called out, heading towards a quiet area and stopping after a quick look around waiting until Kono had joined them before he spoke again. "What did she tell you?"

"Not a great deal" Kono told him. "She's seen Terry Barclay round once or twice in the café which she works at. He would come in, sit in her area and stay for an hour or two at a time. She didn't pay much attention to him because he was quiet and kept himself to himself. The length of time he stayed didn't bother her either because apparently it's a normal occurrence. People often come into the coffee shop with a book or a laptop or some work and will sit there for hours working away at it."

"I can vouch for that" Danni said with a nod. "I did it all the time when I was in University. You had fresh hot coffee always at hand and the staff tended to leave you alone as long as you kept buying coffees."

"What happened today then?" Steve asked after a quick glance at Danni, he realised he was still gripping her arm and forced himself to let go of her.

"She said that everything was normal, she didn't even see him in the coffee shop. She finished her shift at two, left the shop around about two fifteen and headed towards her car. After that she said that things turned a bit hazy so I'm guessing that he was somewhere lying in wait for her."

"How did he get her into her car?" Steve remarked with a frown.

"Well she did say that she felt a sting in her neck so…"

"He probably drugged her" Danni stated when Kono's voice trailed off. "It would be easy to do especially if she wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings."

"She would have been paying attention surely?" Steve said, raising an eyebrow when both Danni and Kono shook their heads at him.

"She wouldn't have been" Danni corrected. "Most civilians aren't trained to keep an eye on what is going around them like we are. No one ever thinks they will be a victim until it happens to them."

"And then they are never the same again." Kono added with a shake of her head.

"So he comes up on her and gives her an injection of drugs, she's probably woozy and he uses that to get her to his car or truck without her raising the alarm. He probably wrapped his arm around her shoulder or her waist, pulled her close and pretty much used the hold to carry her to it." Danni stated, looking towards Kono when she nodded.

"That's what I was thinking, it wouldn't be hard to do either, and anyone who passed them would just think that they were a couple. They are both pale so the locals may even mistake them for tourists."

"It's a hot day as well, any sluggish symptoms anyone spotted could easily have been mistaken for someone who wasn't used to it being out in the sun too long." Danni commented, reaching up and rubbing the back of her neck.

"Then all he had to do was bring her back here, finish the job and burn her and the house down which he would have done if it hadn't have been for you being there already Danni" Kono remarked, turning to look at Danni. "How are you feeling by the way?"

"I'm okay, Hazel the EMT gave me an once over and she says I'm alright though I might be feeling all of this tomorrow, thankfully tomorrow should just be a paperwork day so I won't have to move too much." Danni remarked with a smile at them.

"You'll definitely be taking it easy tomorrow Danielle" Steve told her sternly before he looked back at the house. "Let's finish up here and get back to headquarters. Kono I want you in the interview with me when I talk to Barclay, I'll be taking the lead in the interview. Danni, I want you to start working on the paperwork for us. I get the feeling we're going to have a lot to get through." He said. Danni nodded at him, clearly ignoring the startled look that Kono was shooting them. "Kono, finish taking Sally Clements statement and then meet us inside." He told the Rookie who nodded at him.

"You got it boss, I'm nearly finished with it, so it shouldn't take me too long to do." She smiled at them before she turned and headed back to the ambulance leaving Steve and Danni alone together.

"Care to tell me why I'm being benched?" Danni asked mildly He looked down at her, searching her face as he pushed down the rage which swept over him again.

"Because I don't want Barclay to see you again" He stated simply, watching as her eyes widened at his statement. "I know how men like him think and in his mind you and Sally Clements are going to be the ones who got away. He's going to be thinking about you enough without parading you in front of him, especially as you're already bruising up. The further away from him you are, the better, especially when it's fresh in his mind."

"I can handle myself Steve" She reminded him.

"No one says you can't" He replied "but I've already messed up once today and I'm not going to do it for a second time. Barclay is not going to look at you again if I have something to say about it."

"This wasn't your fault Steve" Danni said quietly, after a moment of pause.

"I'm your partner and I left you alone in the house of a violent suspect, I should have waited until I was sure back up had arrived before I took off for the other house. If I had been any later Danni then…" He stopped abruptly, unable to finish his sentence, wondering as he did why the thought of Danni being hurt on his watch was affecting him so badly.

He was a SEAL who was used to being in combat and seeing those on his team hurt or worse. He had seen Kono injured on their last case but somehow seeing Danni hurt, watching her losing the struggle against her attacker and almost dying from it had done something to him and he was determined not to let it happen again. The only way he could stop himself feeling that way again was to keep Danni safe and he was willing to do anything to accomplish that.

"Then nothing because you did arrive when you did. If you keep thinking about things you should have done Steve then you're going to burn out extremely quickly in this job. We can't second guess ourselves. You made the right call and that's all there is to it so don't beat yourself up over it. Barclay says he's been watching us and that he has already realised that you and I are close for partners so when you head in there with Kono he will try and use that against you. Promise me that you'll keep your head in there and you won't allow him to play on your own doubts about your decision. You did nothing wrong. If you want to blame someone then blame Barclay because he was the one who hit me. You didn't" She told him.

"I guess" He said finally, his comment causing her to grin at him.

"No buts about it" She replied with a wave of her hand. "Now let's get back in that house and tear it apart to see what we can find to use against Barclay. Hopefully there will be enough to make him squirm"

"Okay then" He said with a nod, watching as she turned from him and headed into the direction of the house. His mind already whirling with ways he was going to make Barclay pay for what he did.

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it. **

**I really appreciate it**


	20. A Rookie's thoughts

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Max Bergman and anyone else within the story who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.**

**The character of Danni Williams could probably be considered mine by now. Although the character was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably to say that she is now her own individual character. She has her own story and her own individual background now, a background and story which is different from male Danny's story. This also means that Grace is different as well since not only does she live full time with her mother but also because Danni and Duncan have a fairly civil relationship with each other. Grace's surname is also Taylor in this saga as Williams is Danni's maiden name while Taylor was her married name.**

**The characters of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Abraham Lee, Terry Barclay, Sally Clements, Kennedy Clements, Donovan Clements, Melody Clements, Martin Chen, Rita Chen, Doctor Rosie Lange, Doctor Richard White and Doctor Abigail Fitzgerald do belong to me though.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you don't recognise from the show then they probably belong to me as well.**

Author Note

**I thought this would be the last chapter but it appears there is just one more left to come after this. Mainly because I wanted the last chapter to be from Steve's point of view.**

**This chapter as you can tell from the chapter title belongs to Kono.**

**I decided to give her this chapter mainly because I wanted to show the team's dynamic from someone's perspective who is still new on the job. I also wanted to get her thoughts on her bosses down because she has quite a few ideas about Steve and Danni.**

**The next chapter is definitely the last chapter and I'm hoping to have it up as soon as possible because I know how I want the next one shot in this series to go so I want to start writing it. It will probably be up within a week of Burn finishing. Then there is just the one more one shot after that before we start on the next Chapter story 'Respect the land' which I am looking forward to writing.**

**I shall be a great deal quicker updating that story then I was this one so please look out for it.**

**Anyway not much more to say other than I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late. (Part Four of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Kono breathed out slowly, shifting herself on the back seat of the Camaro in a bid to make herself more comfortable as her dark eyes focused directly in front of her giving her two bosses her full, undivided attention as she listened in to their conversation about the case**

Overall Romance

**Hints of Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Mentions of past Duncan Taylor / Danni Williams (Dunni)**

Chapter Romance

**The romance in each chapter is always going to be up to you the reader and what you want to see. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or who you are rooting to get together though it would be interesting to know what people are hoping for. I know I've made it clear that McDanni is the end game but they still need to get there first, what happens before then is beyond me until I start writing it.**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated within this story are either made up or have been gotten from google so I'm sorry in advance if I've got anything wrong or anything.**

Other, other note

**There are plenty of other McDanni stories exploring different saga and different ways of how things happened. If you're interest in any of them then please check them out. I'm regularly updating so you shouldn't be waiting too long**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen

A Rookie's thoughts

* * *

Kono Kalakaua's point of view

* * *

Kono breathed out slowly, shifting herself on the back seat of the Camaro in a bid to make herself more comfortable as her dark eyes focused directly in front of her giving her two bosses her full, undivided attention as she listened in to their conversation about the case. She had never actually been alone with them like this before, normally one of the other members of the team were with them as well, she didn't mind though, not when it gave her such a good opportunity to see what they were like together.

She still couldn't shift the idea from her mind that Steve and Danni had known each other before they worked on the task force together. It was the only explanation which her mind could come up with to explain the connection which they clearly had with each other. She had seen members of her family who were in law enforcement interact with their work partners and none of them had been like this. They had clearly got on together and trusted each other, that was a must when it came to their line of work but there had been nothing like that with Steve and Danni who acted as though they had known each other for years, not only known each other but Kono would go as far as to say that on some occasions they acted as though they were married and it baffled and intrigued her, especially as their task force was still so new.

Chin had said that Steve had never been to New Jersey and that he had spent the majority of the past six years in other far away countries doing classified missions which he spoke to no one about but Kono wasn't sure she believed it. If Steve had been in New Jersey for a mission than it was likely that he would say that he had never been there before. Danni had worked in the Homicide department running a team so it would make sense that their paths might have crossed. If they had worked together on a mission, especially a mission which was dangerous, then it would explain the strong bond between them and why Steve had immediately kidnapped Danni from her job at HPD and made her his partner.

It was a decision which Kono was already thankful for if she was being honest with herself.

Her observational skills were good, and growing better all the time even though she had to admit that they were still fairly poor when compared to Danni's or Chin's skills, they were however good enough that she could tell that Steve needed Danni even if he never admitted it out loud to anyone. Kono had never met someone quite as calm as the blonde woman, nothing seemed to faze her, even Steve's worst ideas, of which there had been surprisingly many so far, had merely gained a raised eyebrow, at least in public. Often Danni would pull Steve away and speak to him quietly in private and when they returned Steve's idea would be discarded, replaced with a better, more rational one.

Kono thought back to the way Steve had been acting since Danni's fight with Barclay. His SEAL mask had been firmly in place as he and Danni directed the crime scene. Danni had stayed close to Kono, asking her opinion on the crime scene, taking the time to train her which Kono was glad about. She was already learning that seeing something in the Academy was extremely different then experiencing it in the field. Steve's eyes had constantly flickered to Danni as though he was determined to know where she was every moment they were out there in the open.

There was definitely something going on between the two of them, the question was what.

"Kono? Did you hear what I said to you?"

Kono started, pulling her mind away from her thoughts to see that both Steve and Danni had twisted round in their seats and were watching her, the car still beneath them indicating that they has stopped driving. Steve looked annoyed by her clear lack of attention while Danni merely looked thoughtful though Kono was pretty sure she spotted some concern in the other woman's grey eyes. She looked around her, blinking when she realised they were parked in the Ali'iolani Hale car park indicating to her that she had been lost in her thoughts for at least twenty minutes if not longer.

"Err sorry no boss, I was miles away" She admitted, hiding a wince when Steve's eyes narrowed at her. Clearly today was not the day to fuck up anything when Steve was in the mood he was currently in. Steve opened his mouth to say something, closing it with a snap when Danni reached out and rested her hand against his arm, squeezing down on it lightly with a small shake of her head before she spoke, her gaze focusing back on Kono.

"Is everything okay Kono?" She asked, a serious tone in her voice. "Because if something is troubling you or you don't feel comfortable going into the interrogation room with Steve to interview Barclay then say so now so we can let Jack know that he's heading in there with him. There's no shame if you'd rather start off small when it comes to interrogations."

Kono shook her head, a smile coming to her face at Danni's concern, it reminded her of when her mother had protected her when she was younger against her older brother. A feeling that as long as she had her mother in her corner then she could face anything. It was a strange feeling to experience when she knew that Danni was only four years older than she was but she placed that down to Danni's natural mothering instincts.

"No I'm fine Danni, I'm looking forward to getting in there and seeing how it's done" Kono assured them. "I was just thinking about the team that's all, it's nothing serious or important."

She watched as Steve and Danni shared a long speaking look with each other before they both looked back at her. Steve speaking, his previous irritation gone from his voice.

"Best keep your head in the game Rookie, especially against someone like Barclay, he'll be on the lookout for any weaknesses he can find so he can exploit them. Make sure you don't give him any." Steve told her before he turned and pushed open the driver's seat and climbed out leaving Kono and Danni in the car together. Danni smiled at her.

"Wow, boss man seems like a bundle of fun today" Kono said, breathing out as she reaching up and squeezed the back of her neck, feeling worse than when her instructor had told her off in the Academy for being over confident.

"Don't worry about Steve Kono, his bark is worse than his bite when it comes to team mates. He's just going into his zone for the interview, there is a lot at stake here after all, not just for our victims but also for the victims he's killed before whose families still have no answers. If Steve can get that confession from him then it means that a lot of people can finally get some much needed closure and actually sleep at night." She remarked giving Kono a reassuring smile before she left the car as well. Kono breathed out, taking a second to compose herself before she climbed out, glancing around her at the surrounding area as she followed Steve and Danni up the stairs into their headquarters, her mind thinking about Danni's words.

She wasn't sure what to make of Steve, on one hand he seemed as though he was going to be a good boss, he seemed approachable most of the time and she liked that he was willing to do what it took to get a job done but she had to admit that this side that he was showing, his SEAL side as Chin and Danni had affectionately named it, was still as intimidating as hell in her eyes. There was a look in his eyes which indicated to her that he would destroy anyone who got in his way. A small smirk came to her face as her eyes landed on Danni, well maybe he wouldn't destroy everyone.

They headed through security and towards the elevator, Steve jabbing his finger against the call button before he crossed his arms over his chest and stood glaring at it. Kono took the opportunity to move next to Danni, looking down at the small woman.

"What's up with the boss? She murmured quietly, meeting Danni's eyes when she turned to look at her.

"He wants this case finished and Barclay gone." Danni replied with a shrug. "He'll be fine once he's interviewed him." She reached up and patted Kono on the shoulder, flashing her a quick smile before they moved into the elevator. Steve hitting the button for the third floor with enough force that Kono raised an eyebrow. They were silent for a moment before Danni spoke. "You know if you break the elevator then it will take even longer to interrogate Barclay" She remarked mildly, her gaze fixed on Steve who turned to look at her.

"That's not going to happen Danni" Steve responded, looking away from her again before they stepped out of the elevator and headed towards the headquarters. Kono smiled slightly, her eyes dropping to see Steve place his hand on Danni's lower back pushing her forward. She pushed the thought away, focusing her attention on the case and the interview at hand. A glance past Steve and Danni showed Jack and Toast at the computer table working away at the stack of files beside them. Her gaze lingered on Jack for a moment before she headed up to them, arriving at the table just as Steve spoke.

"How is it looking, any alive?"

"Yeah" Jack replied, looking up at them. "It looks like Barclay was planning on moving to Chicago after he had finished here. There's at least five of these file with people who live in that area and all of them as far as we can see are alive."

"And the others?" Danni asked, sighing when Jack shook his head at her.

"All deceased in fires" He told her.

"How many of the files have you gone through?" Steve questioned as he shot his partner a quick glance.

"About half of them now boss" Toast said, speaking up for the first time. "We've just come across the Chicago ones so we're hoping that the rest of these will be potential victims rather than victims who… well you know were turned into BBQ by a crazy whack job."

"Toast, show some compassion, these people were alive with families and loved ones before Barclay killed them. We don't refer to them as being BBQ, we refer to them as Victims" Danni remarked, a warning tone to her voice which made Toast wince as he hunched down as though trying to make his six foot four frame shorter.

"Sorry Blondie, I didn't mean any harm, I'm still working on the compassion side of the job. I haven't exactly seen these sort of things before" He said on a sigh as he waved his hand towards the large plasma screen which was covered on one side with smiling faces and on the other a collection of photos which had clearly been taken by the CSU unit showing burned up bodies. Kono watched as Danni's face softened at Toast's admission, she moved away from Steve to stand next to Toast, wrapping her hand round his arm and gave it a soft squeeze.

"It will get easier" She promised him, her previous irritation gone. Toast nodded looking up at Steve when the other man spoke.

"Unfortunately you'll soon find yourself desensitised to it." Steve remarked before he turned to look at Danni. "I'm going to call Chin and see whether they've found something, if they haven't then I'll head downstairs with Kono and start the interview. What are you going to do up here Danni?"

Danni seemed to consider his question for a moment before she shrugged.

"Someone has to start ringing the other precincts round the country to let them know that they have some cold cases which can now be closed off on the system. If you guys hand me the ones which you've already identified as deceased victims then I can get onto that now" She said, glancing down at her watch with a slight frown.

"Have you got to go and get Grace?" Steve asked her looking down at his own watch.

"Not for another hour and a half so I should make a dent in them. The ones I don't manage I can take home with me and call from there since technically I'll be available until five thirty" She said looking towards Steve who nodded. Kono watched Steve grab his cell phone and press on the number three button, holding it to his ear. She heard him speak her cousin's name before Steve walked away towards his office. Danni watched him for a second before she turned her attention back to Toast giving him a thoughtful look.

"How are you holding up?" She asked him, keeping her voice down. Kono glanced away staring at the screen though she listened in. If she was going to be working with these people and placing her life in their hands then she wanted to know everything which she could about them.

Toast remained silent for a moment before he sighed.

"Okay I think, I guess I didn't expect my first case on the job to be one like this. I mean some of them were kids Blondie, like proper kids who should have been out on the street with their friends playing soccer or throwing a football around, hell or even inside playing a computer game. They shouldn't be in a morgue somewhere waiting to be cut up" He stated, a shaky quality to his voice.

"You're right" Danni agreed "But life isn't like that Toast and we will be dealing with cases which will make this one seem like child's play. It will be hard at first but I know you can do it. Think of it this way, you've helped all those children by bringing their killer in for justice. We've done everything by the book with this one, every warrant was served, and every piece of evidence was kept in the correct chain of command. There is nothing the defence can use against us in court."

"Will we be expected to testify in court Danni?" Kono asked, tilting her head to one side thoughtfully, a slight trickles of nerves entering her blood stream at the idea.

"No" Danni assured them both. "Or at least not yet, court is something which the senior Detectives on the team will do and I don't mean that as a slight against you Kono or even you Toast so don't take it as one. It's the same in any precinct you might go to."

"Trust me I'm not taking it as a slight" Kono assured Danni with a smile. "I would like to watch you in court when you do it though Danni, if I'm going to have to do it one day then I may as well start getting the experience over how it's done now."

"That's a good idea" Dannie agreed with a smile of her own.

"So if it's senior Detectives does that mean you'll be doing all of it?" Toast asked with a frown. "Because no offence Blondie but that sounds like a lot of work for one person, you'd be spending your life down at the court house."

"She won't be" Jack commented, speaking up for the first time since Steve had left, turning his attention away from the laptop he was working on to look at them all. "Danni will do some of them, probably the homicide and vice cases we end up with. I've been trained and been to court several times so any white collar cases or terrorism cases will be easy for me to do and…"

"I'll be doing any military based cases" Steve finished for the tall blond as he came back towards them. "You and Toast coming to watch is a good idea though Kono" He said, nodding towards her, the compliment making her smile for a moment before she frowned.

"What about Chin?" She questioned watching as Steve shot a quick look towards Danni.

"It's up to Chin what he wants to do" Danni replied. "He obviously doesn't need the experience as he would have done plenty of court appearances when he was on the force and although technically he doesn't have a rank at the moment he's still part of our task force so can testify on our cases. He may not want to so if he doesn't then we won't force him. Not when there is more than enough work here to be getting on with" She stated, shooting her office a glance before she sighed.

Kono followed her gaze, raising an eyebrow when she noticed all the files on Danni's desk, files which she was pretty sure hadn't have been there earlier on when they were last in the office.

"Speaking of Chin, he and Detective Lee are currently in Barclay's fourth home and so far they've found nothing. They are just waiting for a CSU team and some uniformed officers to arrive to secure the scene before they head back here." Steve remarked, looking at Danni who nodded at him before he turned his attention to Kono giving her a long look. "Ready Rookie?" He asked her.

Kono glanced around the others before she nodded at him.

"More than ready" She said, breathing out before she turned and followed him out of the room.

This was an experience she didn't want to miss out on.

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it. **

**I really appreciate it**


	21. So do I

Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Max Bergman and anyone else within the story who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.**

**The character of Danni Williams could probably be considered mine by now. Although the character was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably to say that she is now her own individual character. She has her own story and her own individual background now, a background and story which is different from male Danny's story. This also means that Grace is different as well since not only does she live full time with her mother but also because Danni and Duncan have a fairly civil relationship with each other. Grace's surname is also Taylor in this saga as Williams is Danni's maiden name while Taylor was her married name.**

**The characters of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Abraham Lee, Terry Barclay, Sally Clements, Kennedy Clements, Donovan Clements, Melody Clements, Martin Chen, Rita Chen, Doctor Rosie Lange, Doctor Richard White and Doctor Abigail Fitzgerald do belong to me though.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you don't recognise from the show then they probably belong to me as well.**

Author Note

**And here we go!**

**The last chapter is done and Burn is officially finished.**

**I would like to thank everyone who has read the story, commented about it, sent me Personal messages about it or just decided to favourite or follow it. It means the world to me that you would take the time to read this story especially when you consider what a niche market it is.**

**As I've mentioned before this is certainly not the last story in this saga, my goal has always been to rewrite as many of the episodes as I can, for as long as I can. Although I will be using the episodes the way the stories play out will be different, as you can see from 'Family' I merely take the very basic of the episode and switch it, the longer we go on the more unrecognisable the episodes will become to the point they will feel like new stories so hopefully you're all willing to stay with me for it.**

**I have two one shots to write before I can put up the first chapter of 'Respect the land' so please look out for them. The first one is called 'Bonding' and I'm hoping if things work out for me that I can have some of it written today and maybe finished by tomorrow depending on Real life. The second one shot is called 'Just a day in the sun'. I know the plot lines for both of them but I won't spoil it for you all.**

**I've really loved writing this story even though I did have a massive hiatus in the middle of it. I can promise that this won't happen in my other stories in this saga as I'm determined to get as many done as I can and I can't do that if I take big breaks for it.**

**Thank you to everyone who has given my own characters a go, hopefully I can convince you all even further that they belong on the team and that they all bring something interesting and unique to the stories!**

**Anyway I guess there is nothing more for me to say other than I hope you enjoy this last chapter!**

Overall Summary

**Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late. (Part Four of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve headed out of the office, aware of the feeling of Danni's eyes burning into his back, and moved down the corridor towards the elevator, his palms already itching with the desire to make the man sitting down in their interrogation room suffer from every scratch and bruise that now adorned his partner's fair skin. Skin which clearly was the type of skin which showed everything clearly.**

Overall Romance

**Hints of Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Mentions of past Duncan Taylor / Danni Williams (Dunni)**

Chapter Romance

**The romance in each chapter is always going to be up to you the reader and what you want to see. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or who you are rooting to get together though it would be interesting to know what people are hoping for. I know I've made it clear that McDanni is the end game but they still need to get there first, what happens before then is beyond me until I start writing it.**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated within this story are either made up or have been gotten from google so I'm sorry in advance if I've got anything wrong or anything.**

Other, other note

**There are plenty of other McDanni stories exploring different saga and different ways of how things happened. If you're interest in any of them then please check them out. I'm regularly updating so you shouldn't be waiting too long**

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

So do I

* * *

Steve McGarrett's point of view

* * *

Steve headed out of the office, aware of the feeling of Danni's eyes burning into his back, and moved down the corridor towards the elevator, his palms already itching with the desire to make the man sitting down in their interrogation room suffer from every scratch and bruise that now adorned his partner's fair skin. Skin which clearly was the type of skin which showed everything clearly.

"Boss, wait up" Kono called out after him. He could hear her long stride behind him, a quick brisk walk which just escaped being a run.

Steve stopped outside the elevator, hitting the call button and moved his head to the left just in time to see Kono come to a stop next to him, a look on her face that looked partly excited and partly full of trepidation. Danni had assumed that the trepidation was because of who they were going to interview but Steve had the feeling that it was more because she had never seen him in the current mood he was in and was probably trying to figure out the best way to handle him while he was in it.

The thought almost made him smile, only a week and a half had passed since the task force had been set up and Steve was already used to Danni being able to take one searching glance of his face and to know exactly how to handle him and the situation. He would have to remember that the rest of his team did not have that talent, or rather they didn't have it yet, though Steve was sure that by the time Danni, Chin and Jack had finished training Kono she would have all the abilities needed to become an outstanding Detective.

An outstanding Detective who would be loyal to their task force.

The elevator doors slid open and they both stepped in, turning as one to face the doors while Kono reached out and pressed the button for the basement, leaning back as the doors closed and rolling her shoulders back as though she was trying to ease some tension and loosen the muscles up.

For a moment Steve thought about remaining silent but he could already picture the look Danni would be giving him, the one which told him without words that he was Kono's boss so it was up to him to interact with her first.

"How do you think we should handle this interview Rookie?" Steve asked breaking the silence between them as the elevator began moving towards their destination. She looked over him with a surprised look before she became thoughtful, clearly considering his question carefully.

"We should take it slowly, Barclay thinks he has the upper hand most likely because he hasn't yet realised that we have all his files so he may try and make a deal with us, a shorter time in jail in exchange for some more victim names. When that doesn't work he'll probably try and exploit any weaknesses we have." She told him confidently. Steve's mouth curled into a small smile at the answer. Kono had definitely been taken Danni's lessons to heart.

"And what weaknesses are they?" He asked her, glancing up at the elevator's numbers just as it came to a stop, the door sliding open allowing them access to the hallway. They stepped out but Steve made no effort to move towards the interrogation room, instead he merely crossed his arms and stared at Kono with a questioning look, making it clear that he was waiting for an answer. Kono remained silent for a moment, making Steve sigh before he spoke. "Look Kono, I'm not sure what kind of boss you think I'm going to be but I can assure you that I'm not the kind of boss who will chew your head off or kick you to the kerb for voicing your honest opinion. If you have opinions or you have ideas then I want to hear them. If I don't agree with them then I'll tell you that the same way that I'll tell you if they are a good idea. I've had a team of yes people before and it was good there is no denying that but I've found out over the past week that maybe there's something to be said about a team that work together and challenge each other as well. Now what weaknesses do you think Barclay will try and exploit while we're in there?"

"Well it depends on what he has seen, Danni said that Barclay had stated that he has been watching us for the last three days, probably since that first crime scene he saw us at. I'm guessing he'll try and use Chin against me though he may not know that Chin is my cousin, there is after all a clear connection between the two of us which anyone with eyes will see. As for your weaknesses boss" She hesitated for a moment before she carried on, crossing her arms as she met his eyes. "Barclay will use Danni against you, he'll probably describe his fight with her in detail hoping to make you lose it. It's pretty clear that you and Danni care for each other after all. That's what I would do if I was him. If not then he may try and mention your Dad to you, it was in the papers after all."

"That's what I thought as well." Steve said with a shrug of his shoulder. "Good analysis Rookie, when we're in there let me do the talking and follow my lead." He stated, nodding towards her before he turned and headed down the corridor towards the two uniformed police guards who were standing outside the door giving Steve a sense of Déjà vu for a moment though he pushed the thought away. "We have it from here Gents" He told the two police officers who nodded at him and stepped away from the door. Steve caught them giving Kono a dirty look but he ignored it. Kono would have to learn to fight her own battles since her instant inclusion into the Governor's taskforce when she hadn't even completed her academy training had ruffled some feathers with her fellow officers. Steve looked at her. "Ready?" He asked her, smiling when she nodded at him, a determined look in her eyes.

"More than ready" She assured him.

Steve nodded and stepped into the room, ignoring the chill that washed over him causing Goosebumps to erupt over his bare skin. The room was dark apart from the blue lighting with a heavy atmosphere, Steve almost smiled grimly. This had his partner written all over it. He waited until Kono closed the door behind them before he spoke.

"Terry Barclay" He remarked casually.

"Commander McGarrett" Barclay replied back from where he had been secured to the chair in the middle of the room. "And Officer Kalakaua, what a pleasure to meet you finally face to face. I'm surprised you're here I would have thought that your Commander would have brought Chin Ho Kelly or Special Agent O'Connor with him, he can't be taking this interview too serious if he brings his Rookie with him." Barclay remarked sounding amused before he turned his attention back to Steve. "And where is Detective Williams? In hospital? It was a shame you interrupted us when you did Commander, she was beginning to make such pretty sounds for me. If I had known what a thrill it was to have my victims fight back then I may have done everything in a different way. Oh well lesson learned for next time." He remarked with a shrug of his shoulders.

"There won't be a next time Barclay" Steve told him calmly, ignoring the ball of anger growing in his stomach at Barclay's casual mention of what he did to Danni.

"You can't be sure of that McGarrett, who know what can happen between now and then. I was a firefighter after all, perhaps the pressure merely got to me triggering a case of PTSD, you must be well aware of the symptoms. It causes you to do things you would never normally do. I was merely killing the people who lived in the house to spare them the agony of being burned alive. It was a mercy killing. I tried to stop myself, I wanted to but I couldn't help it. I'm sure my defence can find several experts willing to confirm that I have an undiagnosed PTSD and OCD condition which made it impossible for me to fight the urges." Barclay said with a sigh. "If it does get to trial then that's fine as well, I'm sure the jury will pity me not to mention that it means I'll be able to see Detective Williams again, the whole time I'll be imagining her beneath me again and those pretty noises she made, maybe if I get out I'll see her again."

Steve gritted his teeth together, letting the comment wash over him.

"We found your files in your house." Steve commented, watching as Barclay's eyes narrowed for a split second. "I should thank you for keeping them so well organised for us. If you had been smart then you would have destroyed the files long before we turned up at your doors but I guess you needed something which you could return to, something which would allow you to relive the crimes in your mind."

"Unfortunately you won't be able to prove that." Barclay said.

"Possible not but it will help us prove that all your so called mercy killings were pre meditated. You see for your OCD mercy killing theory to work they would have had to be random houses you picked, the closest one to you when your urges struck. Those files prove that they weren't random. You chose the victims and then you proceeded to stalk the victims for months at a time, befriending them to make it easier for you to get into the houses. Those aren't the actions of a sick man suffering from PTSD, they are the actions of a psychopath." Steve stated. "That is what the Jury will believe especially when the DA provides proof of you stalking them prior to the murders. We also have your files for your intended victims in Chicago, again picking your victims before you have even left Hawaii does not show anything to back your theory. All it does is highlight to the Jury that you had pre-planned every aspect of these crimes. There is nothing random about them."

Barclay remained quiet for a moment staring hard at Steve, a look of hate in his eyes.

"I want my lawyer" The red headed man growled.

"Of course, we would hate to deny you your rights" Steve remarked smoothly, turning and looking at Kono who was leaning against the side of the door, staring at Barclay with a look which would have made a lesser man pee his pants. "Officer Kalakaua, can you return upstairs and call Mr Barclay's lawyer and inform him that his presence is required."

"Of course Commander," She said with a nod as she pushed herself off the wall and headed to the door, knocking on it twice and stepping out when the officers outside opened it for her. Steve turned back to Barclay when the door closed.

"Is this the part where you rough me up and demand that I never step close to your partner again?" Barclay sneered at him.

"No" Steve replied, "This is where we simply wait for your Lawyer to arrive"

"I saw your face when you came into my living room Commander, you were ready to kill me for laying a hand on Detective Williams. I knew she was your weak point, it would have been so easy to get rid of you and your taskforce." Barclay told him as he leaned back against his chair.

"Oh?" Steve remarked, keeping his tone disinterested.

"You care for her" Barclay stated. "I could see it from the way you interact with each other. You're clinging to her because what happened with your Daddy. It seems to me that anyone who goes near you McGarrett ends up hurt. If I had killed her then you would have left Hawaii, without you there would be no taskforce. I would have been a hero."

"A hero?" Steve said with a smirk. "Keep believing that. What you are Barclay is a child killer and we both know how the criminal in lock up feel about people who kill children. They don't like it and when they don't like something then they have no problem in letting that person know all about it. If you make it to trial then the rest of your life will be short and hellish and it would be nothing more than you deserve and I will be there every step of the way watching you." He promised before he turned and headed towards the door.

"We could work out a deal Commander, I could give you the name of more victims and my accomplices, there were more than the Chens" Barclay called after him.

"No deal, whatever you have to offer we already know or we'll find out. There's no way of weaselling your way out of this." Steve told him, banging on the door and stepping through when it opened. He rolled his shoulders back and looked towards the Officers waiting until the door was closed again before he spoke. "Turn the heating and lighting up slightly. His lawyer is on the way and the last thing we want is for him to start yelling about police brutality." Steve told them,

"Yes Commander" the older of the two said. Steve nodded at them, heading back down the corridor, bypassing the elevator and heading to the stairs, he took them two at a time, needing a release of tension. A long swim after work would help him work it off.

He pulled open the stairwell door on the third floor and headed down the corridor, pulling the door to their headquarters open and stepped in, his eyes moving around him taking in everything. Jack and Toast were still at the computer but this time Kono had joined them, standing next to Jack talking to him, no doubt trying to find out who Barclay's lawyer was. Toast had all the files and was making his way through them steadily. Chin was still missing while Danni was on the phone in her office, typing at her keyboard as she spoke.

Steve headed over to the computer table, his eyes focusing on them.

"Update?" He asked.

"We've just found out who Barclay's lawyer is boss" Kono announced. "I'm about to call him now and tell him to come down." She told him, taking the post it note which Jack passed her and headed away from them towards her office.

"Kono filled me in on what happened down there" Jack commented, looking up at him. "I'm going through the victims on the island and find out where they worked and places they frequented, I'll get a warrant from the judge and go through the nearest CTV camera footage and see whether we can see Barclay on it. It shouldn't be too hard since he's a redhead, they tend to stick out a bit more here in Hawaii then they do elsewhere." He commented.

"That's good, Barclay is going to go for the sympathy vote saying that he has undiagnosed medical conditions and that the murders were a mercy killing to spare the families the agony of burning alive." Steve told them, smiling slightly at the loud snort that escaped Jack.

"Good luck with that" Jack muttered. "I'll blow that theory out of the water when I show that he was stalking the victims and interacting with them beforehand."

"Sounds good to me, ask Danni to call the judge for you before she leaves today. She managed to get those warrants for his houses quickly earlier so clearly she has a good working relationship with him. Until we build up our own connections we'll have to rely on Danni's and Chin's connections to get our request expedited. We have to make sure that everything we do is by the book with this case. I don't want him getting out especially as he is fixed on finishing what he started with Sally Walker and Danni" Steve told them, watching the concerned look which came to Jack's face at the news. The tall blond looked passed him towards Danni's office, staring at it for a moment before he nodded.

"That's not going to happen" He replied confidently. "I'll speak to her now and get that warrant, the sooner I can get to work on it, the better for us." He remarked before he moved passed Steve heading towards Danni's office.

Steve watched him for a moment before he focused on Toast.

"What about you Toast? Anything to report?" He asked meeting Toast's eyes when the younger man looked up at him and nodded.

"Chin rang in while you were downstairs and he says he's on his way back. He would have been back sooner but just as he and Detective Lee were leaving one of the CSU members found some more files, it looks like this guy has been at this for much longer than we original thought boss." Toast remarked sounding troubled. "Chin is bringing the files back with him so I can start going through them. I'll have to finish them tomorrow though because…" he hesitated for a moment before he continued speaking. "I have a rehab meeting tonight at seven and I can't miss it because… well you know boss, you're the one who set the rules. I'll come in earlier tomorrow around eight so I can carry on working on the case."

"That's fine Toast" Steve said with a nod at him. "Have you found anything more from the files?"

"That he is prolific" Toast said with a shake of his head. "I've counted at least ten potential victims from the Chicago area and we're up to about thirty victims over the past fifteen years who have been killed in exactly the same way. It seems like when he realised that the police were onto him he quickened his pace, by the end he was killing like three families a week and then he would suddenly disappear."

"And end up elsewhere" Steve finished for him.

"Exactly" Toast said, looking troubled for a moment. "I can do a nationwide search if you want to see whether there are any other victims who died in the same way. We got most of the files but there's always the chance that he lost some. If I send it now then I should have some potential matches when I come in tomorrow? It's up to you though."

"Do it" Steve told him waiting until the other man nodded at him. "And Toast?" he remarked, smiling slightly when Toast looked up at him. "That was a good idea, keep it up."

Toast looked startled for a moment before a wide grin crossed his face.

"You got it boss man" he stated before he turned his attention back to the computer.

"Ask Kono to help you build up the correct profile for it" Steve commented.

"No problem" Toast confirmed with another smile at him.

Steve shook his head, turning and heading over towards Danni's office, glancing towards Kono when she came out of her office, looking around her. Her eyes landed on him causing her to shift direction and jog lightly over to him.

"I got through to Barclay's lawyer and he's on his way here now. I rang security and told them to call me when he's arrived so I can take him down to Barclay." Kono told him.

"Good, until then I need you to help Toast build up a profile of the crime so he can send something out nationwide so we can see if there are any other victims who fit the way Barclay kills people. Show it to Chin or Danni if she's still here when you're finished. If they are happy with it then send it." He instructed.

"Not a problem boss, I'll help him now" She said with a nod before she turned and jogged over to where Toast was waiting for her. Steve watched them exchange a smile for a second before he turned and headed to Danni's door, pushing it open. He nodded at Jack when the other man stepped aside to let him pass before he spoke.

"Danni's just faxed off the warrants to the Judge and he's verbally agreed it so I'll get started with the first victims" Jack remarked to him as he walked passed him. Steve waited until he was out of the room before he closed the door behind him and headed towards Danni's desk, taking the chair in front of it.

"How did the interrogation go?" Danni asked him, her eyes never leaving her computer screen.

"He's too confident" Steve said with a shrug. "He's so convinced that his argument will sway the jury that he's happy to share it with everyone."

"We'll just have to make sure that everything we do is above board" She said, leaning back in her seat and looking at him closely, her eyes scanning his face. "Did you touch him?"

"Not a hair on his head Danni" Steve answered her. "The cameras were on the whole time, I sent Kono to call his lawyer the moment he asked for one and I stopped asking questions about the case as well."

Danni searched his face for a moment longer before she smiled.

"Good" She stated. "How was Kono down there?"

"She was fine, she didn't say anything in there, merely gave Barclay her best death glare which I have to admit is pretty impressive" He said with a slight laugh.

"I've made arrangements with HPD for them to take him later on today and place him in lockdown until he's transferred to prison, it be good if one of us can go as well with them just to make sure that everything happens smoothly. I was going to ask Chin if he minded going." Danni told him.

"Sound good, if he can't then I'll go" Steve remarked, he leaned back in his chair, his eyes scanning her face. "How are you feeling?" He asked, unable to keep the concern from his voice.

"I'm okay, my head feels tender but Hazel said that I didn't have a concussion so I should be fine, a good night sleep will sort me out. I'll have to assure Gracie that I'm okay, she always gets concerned when I get hurt." Danni commented on a sigh as she shrugged.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to stop it happening at all" Steve said quietly. He looked up when he heard Danni come to her feet, watching as she moved round the desk and rested against it so she was next to him. She reached out, wrapping her small hand round the back of his neck and spoke, meeting his eyes.

"There will be several times that I will be hurt in the job, the same with the others as well. It what the job entitles. I don't blame you for what happened to me because you made the right decision with leaving to check out the other house. Life would be easy if we could look into the future but we can't. If you beat yourself up every time a member of the team gets injured then you're going to drive yourself insane and we need you functioning at full capacity so don't blame yourself okay. If anything I should be thanking you repeatedly for arriving when you did." She remarked, squeezing his neck with a smile before she lowered her hand. "I'm going to have to leave shortly so I should really carry on with my work" She told him as she came to her feet again, patting her hand against the stack of files which she was clearly working through.

"You want me to take some of them?" He asked her as he came to his feet. Danni looked surprised by the offer before she shook her head.

"I appreciate the offer but you're going to have to be focused on tying all the loose ends together, everyone will be asking you questions. I've done this so many times in the past that I know exactly what to say and what information to supply." She stated as she took her seat again.

Steve nodded at her, heading towards the door and pulled it open before he came to a stop, looking out at his team before he turned back to Danni who was watching him with a questioning look.

"I think that we've got something good here Danni" He said, the comment clearly surprising her before she smiled softly at him.

"So do I Steve, so do I."

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it. **

**I really appreciate it**


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